Table Talks
by mamaXunicorn
Summary: A series of moments throughout Will and Emma's life together.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So this is the first installment of this set of one-shots. It was originally just going to be a one-short story but then I decided to add more to it so its a collection of different one-shots. And they all have to do with 'the table'. You'll see what I mean once you read it. So I hope you enjoy!**_

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Emma awoke with a start. She sat up and held her breath, listening. She was having a nice dream when something woke her up. It sounded like somebody was in her home. It was quiet for as long as she could hold her breath so she thought it was just her imagination. She relaxed her tense muscles and sunk back into her sheets and pillows.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes hoping she could get a little more sleep before she had to get up for work.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her heart leapt into her throat. There was the noise again she was certain of it. Someone was inside her condo. She started shaking and hyperventilating. She didn't know what scared her worse the fact that there was a stranger in her home or the fact that the stranger was trekking germs wherever he went. She shuddered at just the thought.

She threw the covers off of her and slid off the bed. She slipped into her slippers resting near her bed and inched toward the door. She tried listening for any sound if the intruder being near but the only sound she heard was her heavy breathing. She slowly and carefully opened her bedroom door and peered out into the hallway. The light in her kitchen was on. Her eyes widened and she held her breath and listened. She could hear the clinking of silverware. She closed her eyes tightly and quickly disappeared into her room leaning up against the wall. Oh God what was she going to do? She quickly glanced at the phone on her night table. Should she call the police? No. The intruder would surely hear her because she knew if she tried to speak she would become hysterical. She just decided to keep quiet and maybe the intruder wouldn't come to her room. She tried to convince herself that maybe the intruder was just hungry and he would find something to eat and leave. She knew she was being ridiculous but it was the only thought that kept her sane.

After what seemed like ever she carefully peered out of her room again. The light was still on but she couldn't hear anything. She tiptoed out of her room and with her heart pounding in her chest she approached the kitchen. When she was near the doorway she heard the clinking of silverware again. She held her breath again and backed up against the wall. She closed her eyes and took a few deep yet quiet breaths. She bravely decided to take a peak into her kitchen. She

didn't know what she would see. Maybe a man dressed in all black with a ski mask on. Maybe some bum who was crawling with germs and all sorts of bugs.

What she saw made her heart double in pace but not in the way she thought. Will Schuester stood in her kitchen working over the stove. He was dressed in navy blue pajama pants and a white sleeveless undershirt. As his arms moved over the stove she could see the muscles in his arms and back flex. She swallowed hard. She was still trying to get over her mini panic attack from thinking her home had been broken into and having a nearly shirtless Will in her kitchen was not

helping. Without even realizing it she moved so she was standing in the doorway.

Will seemed to notice her out of the corner of his eye and he turned to her with a grin. "Hey Em. Good Morning." He lifted his hand in a wave and her heart melted. She just fell in love with him all over again for covering his hands was a pair of latex gloves.

"Want some breakfast?" He asked holding up the pan. "I'm making eggs."

She wanted to answer him but the only thought running through her head was why was Will Schuester in her kitchen making her breakfast in his pajamas?

And the she remembered.

After a long back and forth argument Will decided to accept Emma's offer to let him stay at her place. He knew he couldn't live with Terri anymore and he didn't want to live with his parents. But when Emma found out that he slept at the school she would not have it and offered him her guest bedroom. He refused at first not wanting to impose on her but she insisted and he gave in offering to pay her rent. She refused to take his money though. She was doing a favor for her friend who was hurting and she would not make him pay. Besides, she would never admit it to him, but she dreamed of the day Will would live with her. Which is why she didn't remember he was staying there because it felt like a dream. But it wasn't and Will was actually was in her home, in her kitchen, making her breakfast.

When she came out of her thoughts she saw Will staring at her with a confused look. "Emma?"

She blushed heavily. She must have looked like an idiot just standing there gawking at him. "Um...yes um thank you Will." She said quietly and moved over to the table lowering herself into the chair letting out a breath.

Will smiled and turned back to the stove. She stared at his back still daring to believe he was actually there. She always wondered what it would be like to see Will in his pajamas and so she admired him. The smooth looking skin of his exposed shoulders, his perfectly trim middle and his...

Her cheeks turned as red as her hair as her eyes travelled lower. Even though his pants were baggy she could imagine his long and muscular legs. His feet were covered by white socks but she wondered if she would mind if he went bare foot.

She abruptly shut her eyes and scolded herself. What the hell was she doing? He was still technically married for goodness sakes! She promised herself she would not get caught up in him when he moved in. She couldn't even keep her own promise. She let out a deep shuddering breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Hey Em," her eyes opened when she heard Will's voice and saw he was staring down at her from across the table a plate of eggs in his hands. "You alright?"

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Just fine." she reached over and took the plate from him. "Thank you for making breakfast it was very sweet."

He gave her a skeptical look bur brushed it off and took a seat across from her and smiled softly. "Well you're letting me live in your home it's the least I can do since you won't let me pay." He raised his eyebrows.

She looked up at him. "I told you Will I am doing this as a favor to you. You are my friend and I want to help you you do not have to pay a friend for a favor."

She blushed at the look he was giving her. His face was lit up like a kid on Christmas morning, a small yet adorable smile tugged at his lips and his eyes held a look of adoration and gratitude. "Thank you Emma you don't know how much this means to me."

She tried to keep the big goofy smile she got whenever he looked at her and talked to her like that off her face. So she shrugged non-chalantly and dug into eggs. "It's no trouble Will really."

She took a few bites and then glanced back at him. He was just sitting there with his arms folded on the table and watching her with a smile on his face. "Aren't you going to eat?"

His eyes widened slightly and he sat up as if he were alarmed. "Oh...yeah." He smiled sheepishly and gave a sort of nervous chuckle before rising from his seat to get himself some breakfast.

She watched him, puzzled. He seemed a little flustered and that was odd for him. He never acted that way around her.

He made himself a plate and sat back down and started to eat. As he ate she noticed that he still had the latex gloves on. "Will?"

"Hm?" He looked up from his meal curiously.

She looked down at his hands and nodded her head in their direction. "You don't um you don't have to wear to uh to where those."

"Hm?" He followed her gaze to his hands and laughed that nervous laugh again. "Oh." He shrugged. "To tell the truth I forgot I was wearing them. They're surprisingly comfortable."

Emma gave him a small smile. "You don't have to do that Will."

"What? Do what?" He asked innocently.

She let out a sigh. "Wear things like that or pretend that you don't mind. You shouldn't have to deal with my insecurities."

"Emma," He started, his voice smooth and understanding, "If it makes you more comfortable I don't mind doing it. I am a guest in your home and I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

She smiled at the simple irony of the situation. Will was probably the only man in the world who would do that for her and yet he was the only one in the world who she didn't mind if he touched everything.

"Will just because you just moved in doesn't make this place any less yours than it is mine."

"But you won't let me pay."

She shook her head. "I will not because I know that's not what you need right now. You need to get back on your feet."

"Em, I'm already up on my feet. Without having to pay for the old apartment or any stupid thing Terri wanted to buy I have more than enough money. Having an extra person in your home is going to cost you more money what with water and heat and electricity and food its not fair of me to make you pay all of that by yourself." He explained.

Emma felt the familiar pang of jealousy when Will mentioned Terri's name but that soon faded when she noticed the pain in his voice when he said it. That alone convinced her not to let Will persuade her to let him pay her.

"No one is making me do anything Will. I decided on my own to take you in because you need a good home right now. I don't want you to worry about bills or how much to pay me or anything like that. You need to get over the first bump in the road and then worry about the next." She told him. "Maybe one day when your life is less hectic I will change my mind but for now..." She shook her head. "I'm not going to let you pay Will."

The pair locked eyes, neither wanting to back down from their stand on the subject. Emma almost lost it as she gazed into his eyes. Every time he even looked at her her brain would turn to mush. He had a spell over her and he didn't even realize it. The only thing keeping her from caving in was the fact that he was in pain. Going through a divorce was never easy.

But luckily Will gave in. He sighed and threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. You win. I won't pay."

Emma smiled triumphantly. "Thank you Will."

"No Emma, thank you." The look on his face made her heart flutter. She could feel her cheeks burning again and looked down at her plate to hide it. She stabbed at her eggs with her fork and nibbled on it.

She glanced up at him through her eye lashes and saw that he had also begun eating again. He didn't eat messily unlike Ken. She lost her appetite whenever she was eating in the same room as Ken. He would practically shove food into his mouth and some would fall onto his shirt and depending on what he was eating it would go all over his face. But not Will. He ate like a civilized human being, carefully with not too big of bites..most of the time anyway. She smiled as she drifted off into the memory of when he had a little mustard in his cute chin dimple. She remembered the butterflies she got in her stomach when his tongue came out of his mouth to try and lap it up. If it was any other guy, any other person, she would have been disgusted. She remembered taking her gloved hand and reaching over to wipe it off and looking up to meet his gaze. The way he was looking at her, she wondered if he felt the same butterflies in his stomach, the same fluttering of his heart, the same spark that seemed to run through her entire body even with the gloves on. "Thanks." He had whispered, his voice distant, the same as when he had danced with her in the bridal store and confirmed that she could dance in her dress. He had the same look in his eyes then too.

"...earth to Emma!"

She shook her self out of her memories and saw Will waving his hand in front of her face. When she caught him smiling at her her cheeks turned even redder. How many times was that now? one hundred?

"You kind of zoned out there for a minute." He chuckled.

"Oh did I?" She said breathlessly trying to hide her embarrassment. "I guess I was just thinking."

"About?" He asked raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

Her eyes widened slightly and she swallowed. "Oh nothing too important really." She shrugged it off and turned her attention to her plate once again. "This is really good Will thank you for making it."

"Again, its the least I could do." He replied. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"So I was wondering," Will began and she looked at him curiously, waiting for him to go on, "Since we're now living in the same place do you think it'd be easier for us to carpool to work?"

"Y-you mean go together?" She asked hesitantly and he nodded.

She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders lightly. "Gosh Will I don't know if that is such a good idea. I mean people might get the wrong idea if we come together and leave together. They'll think we're living together and we are, I mean I know we are, but we're not living together together you know? And people might think that and people will talk all the time and I don't know if its such a good idea that people know that we're living together, in the same apartment I mean um..."

"Emma." Will broke in calmly and she looked up at him nervously. The small smile on his face relaxed her somewhat.

"It's okay Emma I understand. And I agree with you I don't think its such a good idea for us to be seen together publicly yet. At least not in that way."

She nodded her head quickly and repeatedly. She longed for a relationship with Will, she longed for it with every fiber of her being. She longed to show to the world that Will was hers and she was Will's. But she couldn't...not yet. They hadn't talked much about their relationship or even if there was one or was ever going to be one since that kiss in the hallway. They hadn't even mentioned it all since then.

"But..." She started to grow nervous at the tone to his voice. "...I was wondering...what about here?"

Her eyes widened slightly at his question. "What about here?" She asked and looked back down at her plate. "I'm not too sure what you mean Will. If you mean can we pursue something when we're alone...I don't know Will, I mean...you're uh-" Her voice trailed off as she saw Will out of his seat and approaching her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her breaths started coming in and out more quickly. "You're uh- um, well..." She tried to speak but it came out in only hushed tones and soon Will's face was only inches from hers. "I don't think..." She tried to say but her words were cut off by Will's lips. Her eyes widened for a split second and then she let herself succumb to Will's kiss.

All her doubts and insecurities were gone as soon as Will's soft lips were pressed against hers. Her heart melted and her eyes fluttered closed as she just relished in the kiss. She thought she remembered every detail of the first kiss but kissing him again made her realize her memory didn't do the real thing justice.

The feeling of kissing Will was unlike anything she ever imagined or ever felt before. It sent tingles to every part of her body and filled her body with warmth.

"That..." He whispered as he broke the kiss. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head upwards to meet his gaze. "That is what I mean."

At his words she was suddenly brought back to reality. She licked her lips, her heart skipping a beat when she found she could still taste him there. She pushed back any desire she had to leap into his arms and kiss him again and pushed her chair backwards. She let out a breath, closing her eyes for a second.

"Will." She stated, trying to be confident but her voice seemed to fail her. "I don't think its such a good idea. You're still married Will, maybe you don't see yourself as married anymore but legally you still are married. You only left your wife a couple of weeks ago. You're still hurting from what Terri did to you and I will always be there for you. I will be there as a friend, I will be there if you need someone to talk to and if you need someone to comfort you. But I can't be the girl you turn to to forget Terri." She shook her head and let out a shuddering breath. "I can't be a rebound and I can't be 'the other woman' and if you're still married and we start something that is exactly what I'll become. And I can't handle that Will." She lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly. "I can't..."

"Emma..." She heard the scraping of a chair as it slid across the floor and then she felt Will's hand over hers. "I don't expect you to be. You're right. I am still technically married to Terri and it would be wrong of me to ask you to be 'the other woman'. I wouldn't let myself let you be the other woman. And I couldn't handle it either, I couldn't cheat on my wife, no matter what. And you're not just the rebound. You mean too much to me to just be a rebound which is why we will wait. We will wait until my divorce is final and until we're both ready. Until we're both sure that I'm not just going to you out of hurt. In time I'll prove to you that you're just not a rebound, you're the person I truly want to be with."

She opened her eyes and looked up towards him. She stared into his eyes and saw the sincerity in them. His words were true and his words were a promise to her. They both wanted the other but they both knew they needed time. The waiting might be unbearable and they're not quite sure how long it will take but she could see in his eyes that he meant what he said and one day they'd be together.

She broke out into a smile and in response a smile spread across his face. No words needed to be spoken between them. As they stared into each other's eyes there was an unspoken mutual understanding.

He squeezed her hand gently and then rose from his seat. "I'm going to get ready for work." He said and she nodded in reply. He gathered both his and her plates from the table and placed them in the sink. Her eyes focused on the dirty dishes as Will walked towards the door. She knew what she was going to do while he was getting ready. She could not leave those dishes in there for long, in fact she was resisting the giant need to run over there and scrub the dishes until they sparkled.

"Oh and Emma," He called to her from the doorway and she turned her attention away from the dishes and to where he was standing in the doorway. He smiled at her, "pink is a really nice color on you." He winked quickly and then disappeared out of the doorway.

She furrowed her brow and stared at the empty doorway, perplexed by his statement. It was only when she got up to wash the dishes did she realize - she was in her skimpy pink nightgown. She was talking to, eating breakfast with and _kissing_ Will Schuester in nothing but a pink nightgown.

For the thousandth and certainly not the last time that day, she blushed.

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_**A/N: Who saw the preview for the return of Glee? Who squealed like a little girl at the two Wemma snippets we got? I personally cannot wait to see what song they sing together...since I heard Emma sing in 'Mash Up' I have wanted to hear her sing again and wanted to hear her sing as a duet with Will and they are going to be singing a duet in his bedroom! WOAH! That's like...I want to know what's going on there! **_

_**Review if you love Wemma! Review if you love Glee!!! Review if you squealed like a little girl at the preview! Review if you loved this story! **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Well hello again. This is number two, it's a little bit darker and more angsty than the first chapter but I hope you'll still like it. **_

Emma glanced anxiously at the clock ticking away on the kitchen wall. She had probably been scrubbing the dish in her hand for the last ten minutes. It wasn't because of her mysophobia either. In fact she wasn't even paying attention to the dish. Her mind was otherwise occupied.

When Emma had gotten up that Saturday morning she expected the house to be filled with the aroma of freshly cooked breakfast. It was Will's turn that day. See, she and Will had made up a plan. Everyday they would switch who would cook the breakfast. Will claimed he didn't mind making it all of the time but Emma felt bad for making him cook all the time so they made a deal that they would take turns. And that day was Will's. But she didn't smell anything. When she arose from bed she grabbed her robe and headed towards the kitchen. Just as she suspected Will was not there.

She came to the conclusion that he was still asleep. Will was usually not one to sleep in too late on a Saturday; she had come to know in the few months he had been living there. But the glee kids took him out the night before to celebrate their winning of nationals and he didn't get home until late.

But as she passed the guest bedroom she found the door open, the bed made and Will not in it. She poked her head in to see if maybe he was hiding near the closet but his room was vacant.

She then proceeded to check the bathroom and once again Will was no where to be found. There was no where else for him to be in her condo and Emma didn't think he would hide on her on purpose.

She made her way back to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast and that was when she spotted a note on the kitchen table. She walked over to it and lifted it up to read it.

_Hey Em_

_Sorry I had to run you're on your own for breakfast today._

_I'll make it up to you tomorrow. _

_Will_

Run?

She placed the note back on the table, furrowing her brow in confusion.

Where did Will have to run to? And so early in the morning?

By lunchtime Will was still not home. Emma pondered calling him but she figured if he wanted to tell her where he was he would have in the note he left.

After lunch she decided to clean the entire condo. She hadn't done so in a while and it was long overdue for it. She cleaned for hours, avoiding Will's room not wanting to mess up anything in there.

When she finally was done cleaning the main room, her bedroom and the bathroom it was nearing dinnertime and still there was no word from Will.

She made herself dinner and ate alone and quietly. For years she had done nothing but eat alone except for the occasional visits from her parents and siblings. She had never had Ken over. She knew she couldn't handle having him walking all over her apartment and touching everything. She knew she wouldn't be able to eat if she had to watch him eat at her kitchen table. She cringed at even the thought.

But in the last few months she had gotten used to and so comfortable with Will joining her for every meal and the conversations they held. She would look forward to dinnertime just to hear what Will had to say about what happened in Spanish class or in Glee club. Emma would also enjoy telling Will about the kids (without naming names of course) that would come into her office. Some of the stories she heard were absolutely ridiculous but some of them had her and Will launching into deep conversations.

Then after they ate Emma would wash the dishes and Will would dry them and put them into their respective drawers and cabinets. Then depending on the day they would sit down on the couch and/or chairs in the living room and Will would grade his Spanish papers and Emma would pick up a book she was reading. Or if there was a good movie on, despite the fact that they both agreed to not getting involved in a relationship yet, Emma would let herself cuddle up to Will on the couch, he would sling his arm loosely around her and they'd enjoy the movie and each other's company.

However, now Emma stood in front of the sink, scrubbing a dish clean, alone and without her dryer. She finally placed the overly clean dish onto the side of the sink and picked up another. Then she glanced at the clock again. Only two minutes had passed since she last looked at it.

She sighed in frustration and let the dish fall back into the soapy water, splashing bubbles of dish soap into the air. She knew she should not be reacting like she was. She was not Will's wife; she wasn't even involved with him at all. Yet there she was acting like a worried old wife waiting for her husband to get home.

"Ridiculous," she muttered to herself, picking up the dish again and scrubbing it hard, "just ridiculous."

But her eyes were still drawn to the slowly ticking clock on the wall. She let out another quiet sigh and went back to finish the dishes.

Just as she had finished drying and putting away the last dish she heard the familiar sound of the keys in the door. He was home.

She dried off her hands as she heard the door open and close and then footsteps. She watched the doorway anxiously as if she were expecting the worst.

Will appeared in the doorway and she took in his appearance. He looked tired and worn down and she instantly wondered what had caused him to look like that.

He slowly walked into the kitchen, giving her a small, almost sad smile. He stopped right next to the table and she glanced up at him in wonder. He held up a manila folder in his right hand filled with papers and then he tossed it onto the table.

She furrowed her brow and followed the path of the folder from his hand to the table. She glanced at the folder with the numerous amounts of paper and wondered what they were. He took in his appearance, the long amount of time he had been gone and the papers and it suddenly clicked.

She gasped and looked back up at him. "Will…"

He shrugged his shoulders, raising his eyebrows slightly before sitting down in one of the chairs. She quickly moved to sit down next to him and switched into her guidance counselor mode. "Are you alright?" She questioned her voice sweet and caring.

"I just can't believe its over." He replied staring at the beige colored folder sitting on the table top.

Emma opened her mouth to reply but words failed her. She was usually good at giving people advice, it was her job after all but this wasn't just one of her students. This was her best friend and the man she was in love with.

"I never really believed in divorce." He continued and she sat and listened. "I always thought that you shouldn't marry someone if you're not completely sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. Usually people get divorced because they can't stand the person anymore. Why would you marry someone that you can't stand?"

Emma knew his question was rhetorical. She knew that he was just talking to himself out loud. He was so obviously affected by the divorce and she didn't want to upset him further.

"Well now I know."

"Will." She finally spoke and his eyes lifted to meet hers. "Most divorces are because people rushed into their marriage without fully knowing if they loved their partner. That wasn't the case with you and Terri."

"Maybe we did…" He mused. "Rush into things…"

She shook her head in protest. "From what I understand you and Terri were together since high school correct?"

Will nodded quietly.

"Right," She continued, "and you also told me that you had been married for five years. That leaves approximately ten years between high school and the time of your marriage. Will you did not rush into anything. And you loved her Will. Most people don't truly love their partner but that is a key difference, you did." And not wanting to jump to any conclusions she added, "…o-or do."

He didn't comment on her last statement, only shifted in his seat to lean forward slightly, nodding slowly. "I truly did think I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. I thought we were going to be a family."

She clenched her jaw and nodded slightly, trying to fight back her personal feelings and be his friend. "She hurt you Will, she betrayed your trust and it's only natural for you to want to separate yourself from her. The cause of your divorce was legitimate. She lied to you Will and that is nothing to take lightly."

He leaned back again in his chair with a sigh. "It wasn't just the baby either." At this point Emma knew he was back to talking to himself again. He was trying to work out his reasons for leaving her in his head and she knew she just had to listen. "She was selfish and controlling, she didn't treat me as her equal which is what marriage is all about. She didn't treat me in the way I deserved."

Emma could only nod in agreement. She had told Terri that herself that she did not deserve Will and at the time Emma thought she was going to have his baby and Emma hoped that Terri would shape up soon so she could be a good mother to the baby and be a good wife to Will without driving him up a wall.

"You knew that though didn't you?" He asked and her eyes widened when she realized he was talking to her. His eyebrows were raised in question and she pursed her lips softly.

"Well, she was going to make you give up your dream job to pay for a fake baby." Her eyes widened even more when she realized what she had just said. She bit down on her tongue when she saw him flinch.

"Oh my gosh Will I am so sorry…" She shook her head. "That-that was really harsh…I'm sorry."

"No-no you're right." He sighed quietly. "It's the truth."

"But it was really harsh Will I-I should not have said that."

He shook his head in protest. "The truth is sometimes harsh but we need to hear it. I…needed to hear that."

She clamped her mouth shut not wanting to say anything else.

"I don't regret divorcing her. I knew that I could never look at her the same way again. Maybe someday I'll forgive her for lying to me but I could never love her in that way again. I can't see family anymore when I look at her. Even if I somehow did manage to put the baby behind me I couldn't live with someone who doesn't respect me, who doesn't care about me enough to see my dreams. I worked so hard to try and get hers and she only brought down mine. She wanted things, she wanted money, and she didn't want to work for it, she wanted my money. She even tried to trick me into leaving my dream job for a pregnancy that she knew wasn't real."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and running his hands through his hair. "I'm not going to miss her."

"Will…" Emma broke in quietly. "I know you are hurting but she was your wife and you did love her. Just because you are divorced now doesn't mean you can't miss her."

"I'm not going to miss the new her." He corrected. "I'm not going to miss the lies and the deceit and the woman she has become. I don't know that woman, I don't love that woman. I am going to miss the woman I met in high school, the woman who supported me and loved me all through college. That is who I miss and that is who I was trying to hold on to. That is who I perceived her to be when she was not. I should have realized that sooner."

"Don't blame yourself Will." Emma said. "You thought you loved her and I hate to sound cliché but love is blind."

"Which explains why I was so blind to this whole fake pregnancy thing." He muttered bitterly.

"Will…"

"It was all right there in front of me Emma." He lowered his hands to look at her. "She never got morning sickness, she never let me go to a doctor's appointment, she never let me touch her, even when I tried to hug her she would flip out and would tell me that I would "hurt the baby". Where as Quinn Fabray was in the cheerios for the first few weeks of her pregnancy, she dances all of the time in glee club, and now that she has gotten closer to the glee kids she is constantly hugging everybody and her sonograms and checkups tell her that her baby is fine! All of the signs were right there."

"You had a lot on your mind Will. You thought you were going to be a father and there was all the stress of running the glee club. You were blissfully happy Will and despite all of those other signs she did do a good job of pretending."

Will sat quietly after that. His eyes were fixated on the manila folder and he looked deep in thought. Emma had half a mind to ask him what was on his mind but decided against it. She knew whatever it was he working it out in his head and he just needed a few minutes to himself. So she rested back in her chair and looked around her kitchen, she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by staring at him.

After about five minutes of dead silence she looked back at him and noticed he was now looking away from the folder and looking off towards the side.

"How did Terri handle all of this?" Emma asked, breaking the silence.

He shook his head quickly to break himself out of his thoughts and looked over at her. He stared at her as if trying to process her question and then he shrugged. "She was pretty calm about it. She obviously wasn't very pleased but she didn't try to beg for me to come back. She obediently did what she had to, signed what she had to sign and that was that. She was very civil."

"Did you settle on who gets what?"

He nodded slowly. "Due to the fact that I have the higher paying job they ruled the apartment to me."

"Oh." She responded, feeling her stomach plummet. That meant he would be moving out soon.

"But I gave it to her."

"What?" Her eyes widened considerably in surprise. She was not expecting that. "Why?"

"Well for one I already have a home." He answered, quickly looking around the small kitchen and she held back the smile that wanted to cross her face. "And secondly, I couldn't live there anyway. There are too many memories good and bad. I let her do whatever she wanted with it, if she wants to live in it than fine, if she wants to sell it she can do that. I have to go within the next few days to pick up the last of my things and that will be it."

Her eyes flickered automatically to his left hand. There was a ring of paler skin where the wedding band used to be but other than that it was empty. Emma felt the butterflies in her stomach. Will was no longer married, Will was single again. And where she knew it was going to take a couple of months for him to start to get over the divorce and be ready to start another relationship, she knew she was that much closer to finally having Will Schuester.

"Are you hungry Will?" She asked out of the blue. Her question apparently surprised him as well and she gave him a sheepish smile. But he nodded and gave her a small smile in return.

"Yeah…I am."

She rose from her seat and took a step towards the refrigerator. "I just heated up some fresh chicken and added a little seasoning to it. Not much I know but…"

He shook his head, cutting her off. "That sound perfect Em."

She flushed at the nickname he had adopted for her over the last couple of months. She was so used to him calling her by her full name constantly but once he moved in slowly he started to call her 'Em' instead of 'Emma'. It was endearing and she loved it. "Alright. I'll just um, get it ready."

She headed for the refrigerator when suddenly Will grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked down at him in question. In one fluid motion he rose from his seat and pulled her into his arms. Her eyes widened at the sudden hug but she soon let herself melt into his arms.

"Thank you Emma." He whispered into her hair.

"For-for what?" She whispered into his chest.

"For listening, for giving me advice, for taking me in, for being there for me, for…for just being you." He placed a soft kiss to the top of her hair and an instant warmth spread through her body. "You're my best friend Em, and I wouldn't know where I'd be without you."

"I would do anything for you Will." She replied and all thoughts of dinner and the manila folder still resting on the table escaped the pair's mind.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I'm glad you all liked the angst in the last chapter. This chapter is going to be fluff, fluff and more fluff. I honestly had no idea what to write for this chapter but then while shopping for a birthday card for my friend I stumbled upon a card and it got my head turning and I immediately set to writing. You shall see what the card is at the end of this chapter, I read it and it screamed WEMMA to me. So I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.**_

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Emma was standing in the center of miles and miles of rolling green hills. There was a light breeze but she could not feel it. She could only feel a great warmth from the giant yellow sun high up in the clear blue skies. She could feel herself closing her eyes and she could feel the bright smile on her face.

She reopened her eyes and strolled through the green grass. There was no sign of life anywhere. There was no noise. Just peace. No matter what direction she turned the rolling green hills were endless.

She was in heaven and only one thing would make it even better.

Just then she felt something encompass her from behind. She might have panicked if she had not recognized it instantly. She rested her back against his chest and let out a contented sigh.

"Will..." She breathed out, her words being carried off by the light breeze.

"Emma." He whispered back and she smiled again.

"Oh Emma." His voice was crisp and sweet in her ear and she giggled at the feeling it gave her.

"Emma." His voiced seemed to be getting louder now. "Emma..." Everything around her turned pitch black for a split second and then..

Emma's eyes snapped open and she found herself face to face with a smiling Will. She took in her surroundings behind him and her eyes widened. "Will!" She gasped and sat up quickly grabbing the sheets and pulling them up to her neck.

Will pulled back a little and laughed. "Good morning."

She curled up her legs and stared at him as he stood next to her bed. "Will what are you...why did you...uh...what...good morning." She blushed at her own stumbling. He laughed again which only caused her to blush further.

"Happy Birthday!" He suddenly exclaimed and her eyes widened further. She had completely forgot about her own birthday.

"Th-thank you." She muttered shyly. "You remembered."

"Of course I did." He grinned and leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. "Now come on, get up, I made a special breakfast for you."

She smiled at him graciously and now that she was starting to wake up she noticed what he was wearing. He was dressed and all ready for work. She glanced over her shoulder at the clock on her nightstand and gasped. "Will!" She cried and threw her sheets off of her and leaped out of bed.

"What?" Will asked, alarmed.

"Do you know what time it is?!"

"Yes." He replied laughing and she huffed. He gave her a sheepish smile, "I guess you forgot to set you're alarm last night and I figured since it was your birthday I would let you sleep in a little longer."

She rushed around her room gathering her clothes that she was going to wear. "That was a very sweet thought Will but I need to get ready and now we're going to be late!" She sifted through her drawers, not caring for the moment that she was ruffling up most of her clothing, and didn't seem to notice that one or two articles of clothing had hit the floor.

Will calmly walked over to her with a bemused expression on his face. He gently grabbed hold of her wrist and she paused and turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"Calm down Emma, we're not going to be late just take a deep breathe and relax."

Staring into his eyes, she knew she couldn't refuse him so she sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.

"That's my girl. Now," He let go of her wrist and bent over to pick up the clothing that had fallen and handed it back to her, "Why don't you go take your shower and get ready and meet me in the kitchen alright?"

She nodded slowly and glanced down at the clothing he had shoved into her arms. She blushed furiously when she realized they were her underwear. She curled the garments into her fists and pressed them up against her chest to hide them from Will.

Will gave her a perplexed look at her actions and slowly, when he realized what exactly he had been holding just moments ago, his cheeks turned a light pink.

"I-I'll see you in a few." He stuttered and then backed out of the room, leaving her alone.

She let out another breath and then quickly made her way into the bathroom. She showered quicker than she ever had before. She finished up her morning routine, quickly but carefully got dressed and then headed towards the kitchen.

She stood in the doorway and saw Will sitting at the table reading a newspaper. She cleared her throat to get his attention and he looked up at her. And then he did a double take. His eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped slightly.

Emma was dressed in a black pencil skirt with a deep red blouse and a low pair of red heels to match. She smiled shyly, gauging his reaction.

He slowly rose from his seat and they both walked towards each other just stopping inches away from the other. "Wow Em...you look great."

She blushed bright pink and ducked her head shyly. "Thank you." She murmured.

She felt Will's finger under her chin and he lifted her face up so their eyes could meet. Then he leaned down and sweetly kissed her lips. Emma, as usual, melted under his touch and had to hold onto his arms to keep her knees from buckling.

After the brief kiss Will smiled down at her. A dreamy smile crossed her lips as she gazed lovingly into his eyes.

He the released her and motioned towards the table. "Come on why don't you eat?"

She cleared her foggy mind by blinking a few times and then glanced at the clock. "Alright but we have to move quickly Will we have to be there shortly."

He only smiled at her and pulled out her seat for her.

After she finished breakfast, she quickly washed the dirty dishes and they both headed out.

Emma dug the keys out of her purse and headed towards her car, Will heading to the passenger side. They had come out with their relationship just about a month earlier, even though they had been secretly together for nearly five, and ever since then they decided to drive to school together. Emma insisted on taking her car because even though she was comfortable with touching Will she was not comfortable riding in his car. She would insist on cleaning it every time she got in it and that would slow both her and Will down, even though Will would probably claim he didn't mind.

They got into the car and once Emma started it she immediately turned on the air conditioner. It was nearing the end of the school year and the weather for the past few days in Lima had been unbearably hot. She could already feel the sweat starting to conspire on her forehead and looking at Will, she could tell he was just as uncomfortable as she was in the heat, if not worse. She was allowed to dress in short sleeves and a semi-short skirt and that would keep her cool. But Will had to wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt. He must have been dying.

They rode in pleasant silence until they got to the school. Emma parked in her usual parking space and they both got out of the car. Will walked around to her side of the car and slipped his hand into hers. She smiled brightly up at him and gave his hand a small squeeze and the couple made their way into the school, hand in hand.

Emma reluctantly tore her hand away from Will's once they got to her office so she could find her key and unlock the door. She opened the door, flicked on the light and jumped in surprise when she took a look at her office. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Will smirking.

Different colored streamers were streamed across the filing cabinets and bookcases lining the walls of her office. A set of balloons were tied to the back of her chair and a bouquet of red roses already in a vase sat seated in the center of her desk.

She brought her hand up over her heart and glanced over her shoulder at Will. "When did you...how...?"

He chuckled softly. "Remember last night? I told you I had to run some minor errands?"

"THIS is what you were doing?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

He nodded once, smiling.

She turned back to look at her office and walked towards her desk, a smile creeping up onto her face. She leaned in to smell the roses and closed her eyes for a second to relish in the scent. She then looked up at the balloons. One of them ready 'Happy Birthday Emma' and the two around that one were two different shades of blue.

She stood behind her desk, in front of her chair and smiled over at Will who was still in the doorway. "This was very sweet Will. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He stepped into the office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

Emma sat down in her seat, rested her chin in the palm of her hand and smiled adoringly at Will.

Will slid the vase to the side of her desk as it was slightly obstructing his view from her. At her questioning look he responded, "The roses are very pretty. But I'd rather see you."

A blush creeped up her face and she turned her face away shyly. Will smiled at her obvious embarrassment of the compliment he gave her.

They sat and small talked for a couple of more minutes before Emma started noticing that students had started to arrive. Will excused himself from her office to go set up his classroom for his first class, but not before kissing her softly and wishing her another happy birthday.

She smiled as she watched him go, and sighing contentedly, took out some paperwork.

Throughout the day she had gotten many birthday wishes, thanks to Will, from students and faculty. She had a few wise students trying to ask her how old she was. She would simply smile, shake her head and proceed with the real reason they were in her office.

She was glad Will had not decided to put her age on the balloons in her office. She had passed the 'thirty' marker two years ago and where thirty two wasn't exactly that old she still did not want her students to know how old she was.

At lunch time, as she buried her face in her hands, one of the lunch ladies from the cafeteria had brought her a giant cookie. She mumbled a thank you to her and shot Will a look as he laughed happily. But she could never stay annoyed at him for too long especially when she heard him laughing.

When the day ended and most of the students had cleared out Emma sat in her office finding something to do with herself while she waited for Will to be done with glee rehearsal.

She got up, grabbed her cleaning supplies and started to scrub the windows. After cleaning the windows she grabbed the feather duster in her bottom drawer and started to dust off the tops of shelves. As she was doing so she started to hum _I could have danced all night._

Without even realizing she started to prance around her office happily, letting herself get lost in one of her favorite songs and the memory that went along with it.

She failed to notice that halfway through her little performance Will had appeared in the doorway, obviously surprised to see her dancing around her office with a feather duster, but enjoying it all the same.

At the last phrase of the song her humming turned to words, _"I could have danced, danced, danced all n-" _Her singing was cut short by a gasp when she turned around and saw Will standing in the doorway, grinning at her.

She stood with the feather duster in the air and her mouth gaping open in shock.

Will, slow clapping, stepped into the room. "Bravo Em."

Emma blushed the color of her shirt and lowered her arm, swallowing hard. "How-how much did you see of that?" She asked breathlessly.

"Oh I'd say right from right about the twirl. You're very graceful Em."

"Oh God." She muttered burying her face in her hands. He chuckled softly and walked over to her prying her hands from her face and entwining their fingers together.

She glanced up at him sheepishly and could feel her heart pounding away in her chest.

"Your performance was lovely. Just as it was the first time you sang it. The only difference is now," He let go of one of her hands to trace his finger down her jaw line, sending shivers down her spine, "I can do something I was too much of a coward to do then."

Before she had time to ask what that was, Will swooped down and kissed her. She released his other hand and slid her arms around his neck bringing them closer together. Will slipped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him and the two got lost in each other.

After they parted, they both stood panting, resting close to the other.

"Is glee over?" Emma asked after catching her breath.

"Oh." Will pulled back from her slightly. "No, its not. Almost but..." He smiled warmly at her. "We have a surprise for you."

She furrowed her brow. "A-a surprise? What kind of a surprise?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." He answered and winked at her. He released her from his arms and took her hand in his. "Come on."

He led her down the hallway and towards the glee room. Once they got close to the door she could hear the loud chatter from the teenagers. She hoped whatever it was it was not going to be anything too embarrassing she had had enough of that for one day.

Will stopped in front of the doorway, gave some sort of signal through the door to the kids inside and then opened the door. When Emma walked in after him she was immediately met with all twelve of the glee kids singing 'Happy Birthday' making it special in the only way that New Directions could.

When they were done and Mercedes, Rachel and Kurt had belted out a series of harmonizing high notes, Emma was left with a bright grin on her face.

Rachel stepped out in front of the group as the natural born leader that she was. In her hands she held a large rectangular shiny wrapped object. "Miss Pillsbury," She started with a smile, "on behalf of all of New Directions we would like to present you with this." She jogged forward and handed Emma the object.

Emma glanced quickly over at Will and he shrugged although his smile indicated he clearly knew what was under the wrapping paper.

She carefully tore off the paper and gasped when she saw what was under it. There was a 16x20 framed picture of all of New Directions after they had won nationals. There was a grin on each and every one of their faces and she even saw herself standing beside Will. At that time he had just been ending things with Terri and the smile on his face barely showed it. She had never seen him that happy. In the bottom right hand corner was printed in gold letters: NEW DIRECTIONS '09-'10 OHIO STATE CHAMPIONS.

Emma brought her hand to her mouth and tears stung her eyes.

"You're just as much as part of this club as Mr. Schue." Finn spoke.

"Yeah, If it weren't for you Miss P we wouldn't even have made it to sectionals." Mercedes added and the glee kids nodded in agreement.

"So we decided to give you this so you could always remember how you helped us succeed." Rachel concluded.

Emma looked up from the picture and to the smiling faces of the glee kids. "I...I don't know what to say." She whispered. Never had she been so touched by a group of kids before. She always had a little bit of understanding of why Will loved these kids so much but now she understood completely. "Thank you."

She put down the picture on top of the piano and bravely hugged each and every one of the kids.

When she hugged the last one she turned to Will who was standing behind the piano and they shared a smile.

* * *

As soon as Emma got home she hung up the picture in a spot where whenever she passed the living room she could see it. She took a few steps backwards, placing her hands on her hips and admired the picture on the wall. She loved to see all the smiling faces of the kids but as usual, her focus remained mostly on Will.

She remembered that day like it was just yesterday. Will and Emma stood backstage, Emma had her hands folded together tightly in front of her and Will was biting his nails nervously as they waited for the results of the first place winners.

"_And the first place winner goes to..." _the announcer seemed to take forever as he opened the envelope containing the winning name. Emma could see the kids waiting some what patiently just as eager, if not more, to hear the news. _"New Directions from McKinley High School!" _

The kids didn't even give the man the chance to finish the name as they screamed and ran out onto the stage. Emma smiled brightly in relief and joy and the next thing she knew she was being swept up into the air. Will's arms strong arms were around her and spinning her through the air and she heard the sound of his glorious laughter. He was so happy that once he placed her back on the ground he captured her lips in a kiss. After he broke it off she was left stunned from the intensity of it. The kids then called him out as they thanked him and once she regained her conscious mind she began clapping and cheering for them as loud as she could. For the rest of that day or the days following his smile never faded.

"What are you thinking about?" Will's voice pulled her out of her memory and the same arms that wrapped around her that day slid around her now.

She turned to him with a questioning look.

"You're smile is even brighter than usual...I figured you must be thinking about something good."

She smiled and rested back against him turning her attention back to the picture. "I was just remembering that day." She answered. "You were so happy."

"I was and still am so proud of them. They worked hard and they deserved it."

She turned in his arms so she could face him. "They wouldn't have been able to do it without you Will."

He shrugged and she smiled. Will, always the modest one.

"Sandy Ryerson would have never been able to get those kids to even sectionals." She said and that put a smile on his face and he chuckled.

"Well when Sandy ran glee club the only person in glee club was Rachel. But now that we've got the others together they were sure to win." He explained.

She shook her head in protest, resting her hands on his chest. "Will you brought those kids together. All of them they are all from different worlds in the school. From the cheerios to football to just being a nobody in the crowd but look at them..." She looked at the picture again and Will followed her gaze. "They're all such good friends now. And its because of you Will." She turned back to him and he was smiling down at her.

"Thanks Em."

A couple of hours passed and they were just sitting down to dinner. Will had made her her favorite meal for her birthday even though she tried to tell him that she didn't mind cooking herself.

"It's your birthday." He told her. "I'm cooking, you're eating."

She rolled her eyes playfully but was grateful for the night off. She didn't get many of those. Not that she minded of course, she loved to cook, in fact if it was anyone but Will she wouldn't have let them touch the food in her kitchen. And to make her heart soar even more he washed his hands thoroughly before touching any of the food.

They chatted about how their days were all throughout dinner. Even though they worked and lived together they always found something to talk about.

When Will had finished eating and Emma was almost finished up, Will rose from his seat and she gave him a questioning look. He held up one finger and walked out of the room, returning just moments later with a small rectangular box and an envelope. As he sat down and presented them to her she gave him an exasperated look.

"Will," She began, "You didn't have to get me anything. The roses and the picture were enough for me."

"The picture wasn't from me. The glee kids came up with the idea and all pitched in to buy it. I had nothing to do with it." He shoved the box closer to her. "It's nothing too extravagant I promise I just wanted to get you something."

She sighed quietly but accepted the gift and reached for the envelope first. Printed on the front was her first name in Will's handwriting. She undid the envelope slid the card out and started to read the front cover.

_Lucky me to be in love with my best friend_

_There's nobody I'd rather spend time with than you._

_There's nobody I trust more than you._

_There's nobody who makes me laugh as easily_

_or as often as you do._

_I've heard it said that the best kind of love_

_happens when friendship catches fire._

_I think that's what happened to me._

_I "fell in like" with you right away_

_and then one day I realized_

_an easy, comfortable "like"_

_had grown into a deep and dazzling "love" _

_Now I go to bed with my amazing lover_

_and wake up with my wonderful friend._

She could have sworn her heart stopped the moment she read the first line, her breath caught in her chest and tears pooled her eyes as she flipped open the card to read the rest.

_Life doesn't get any better than this._

_And it's all because of you...._

_incredible you._

And underneath in Will's own handwriting,

_Happy Birthday Emma. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I hope your day is as special as you are. _

_Love always,_

_Will_

She lifted her eyes from the card and saw that Will had moved and now was kneeling beside her. He was gazing up at her with love and adoration. "Will.." She whispered.

"I love you." He blurted out and she stopped breathing again.

For years she had longed to hear those words out of his mouth directed at her. She thought the only way she would be able to hear it is he would be saying it in a thankful manner, "I love you Emma, you're the best!" but only in her wildest dreams did she think he would say the words and mean them from the bottom of his heart. But here he was telling her that he loved her for the first time. And so she could only sit there in shocked silence.

His face twisted up in nervousness. "You...you don't have to say it back if you're not ready. I'll understand. I just want to let you know that I-"

She cut him off by flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him with a passion that even surprised her.

She felt Will's arms wrap around her and press her tightly against him as he kissed her back with the same amount of passion she offered him. She remained in the kiss until her lungs demanded oxygen and even when she parted she still remained close to him. A matching bright smile were on both their faces.

"I'll take that as a good sign." He whispered and she giggled as his breath tickled her face. She lifted her head to look into his eyes and saw them twinkling in happiness and love.

"You can take that as a very good sign." She whispered breathlessly and pressed her forehead against his. She hadn't noticed in their kiss Will had pushed himself up into a standing position. "You don't know how long I have waited to hear you say those words."

"Well?" Will prompted into her ear and she lifted her head to look at him again. His eyebrows were raised in question and it took her a moment to realize what he wanted. She grinned brightly and slid her hands to rest on his chest. She looked deep into his eyes and told him with every ounce of feeling she had in her, "I love you Will."

His face lit up and he brought her into another deep kiss. Emma smiled into his kiss and knew without a doubt that this would be her best and most memorable birthday ever.

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_**Liked it? Loved it? Let me know! And how adorable was that card??**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: If the end is too cheesy I apologize I tried to make it as non-cheesy as possible. Anyway, I hope you like it! **_

_**Also I do have a Spanish phrase somewhere in this chapter…I took Spanish for four years in high school and I'm still in Spanish now in college but I still don't know Spanish that well so I looked up the phrase on the internet and how to write it and this is what they gave me so if its wrong I'm sorry! **_

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Will had been acting weird all day, Emma noticed. In the morning while at the breakfast table he was awfully quiet. He talked to her, asked her how she had slept but he seemed distracted. It was like his mind was somewhere else.

In the past year that they had been a couple Emma came to know all of Will's different facial expressions mostly from not being able to keep her eyes off of him. He had different levels of emotion. He had a couple of different facial expressions for happiness, for sadness, he rarely ever got angry but often a little frustrated. But the one on his face now meant he was physically there but mentally a million miles away. When she would talk he would listen and make comments about what she said to prove he was listening but in his eyes she saw the distance.

The car ride was much the same. Silence in the car was not unusual to them. Sometimes they would talk, sometimes they would put on the radio or a CD they had, bust most of the times they would just sit in silence. Emma kept her eyes on the road but out of her peripheral vision she could see Will staring at her the whole ride there. At first she would blush but it soon become a normal occurrence and so the blushing stopped but the butterflies in her stomach never ceased to exist.

But that day Will wasn't staring at her. He was staring out the window and he was slouched in his seat, his chin rested in his palm. To break the unusually awkward silence she flipped on the radio and smiled upon hearing one of Will's favorite songs. However Will didn't react to it at all except the tapping of his foot to the beat of the song.

When they reached the school, Will took her hand as usual and together they walked to Emma's office. However, instead of sitting down with her for a couple of minutes before the students started to arrive, he simply kissed the side of her face and went down to his room.

Up until lunchtime Emma's mind was constantly on Will's odd behavior. Even when she had a student, her advice wasn't as up to par as usual.

She wondered what could have Will acting so odd. She just didn't understand. Will had had bad days before, days where a lot was on his mind but when that would happen he would usually talk to her about it. Not avoid her and distance himself.

She decided then that she would ask Will at lunch if he wanted to talk about whatever was bothering him because something had to be bothering him. But only ten minutes before their lunch period began she got a phone call from Will telling her that he had a student who needed his attention during lunch. _A phone call_.Him leaving her for lunch wouldn't have bothered her, he has done it before and she understood that some of his students needed his help sometimes. But he would usually come down to her office personally to apologize for not being able to go, never, not once, had he ever given her a phone call. It wasn't even on her cell phone either, it was her work phone. The phone that the teachers use to communicate, the phone that is used for business purposes only.

So she sat alone at lunch, at a table in the far corner, trying to avoid everyone. She took out her gloves and sanitizing wipes and started to wipe down every grape which she had been doing less and less often whenever Will was around. She knew that Will didn't mind her odd rituals, in fact he treated it like it was normal to do, but still she wanted to improve herself for him. Will was the only man in the world to make her forget about messes even if only for a little while. So she would try to forget cleaning things, especially food, while he was around and concentrating on him instead of the germs really helped her. But now Will wasn't there and today the table and her food seemed extra dirty. She didn't even want to sit down in the chair and she contemplated going back to her office to eat. But then she realized she would then get her desk dirty and decided to stay in the cafeteria.

As she sat in silence she began to think about reasons why Will would want to avoid her. Had she done something to upset him? He rarely ever got upset at her and when he did they would usually talk it out, sometimes it would have a small argument but that only lasted a couple of minutes and it would end with a happy make up. She could not think of what she might have done to cause Will to be so distant.

When she came up with nothing that she might have done she began thinking about other people around him. Did something happen in glee club? In one of his Spanish classes? Did, she hated to think, he run into Terri somewhere?

She was about to pop a grape into her mouth when she suddenly paused. A feeling of dread arose in the pit of her stomach as she remembered something her older sister had told her when she was a teenager: "There's only one reason for a guy to avoid you. He's going or planning to break up with you."

Emma lowered the grape back into the container and sat staring blankly at the wall. The feeling of dread intensified when she remembered that Will had once been this distant before. Not to her, but in general. When he was divorcing Terri.

She suddenly had lost all her appetite and continued to stare, horrified, at the wall. What had she done? Had Will finally had enough of her crazy mysophobic tendencies? Did he realize that she wasn't worth all the extra work he had to do just to not make her uncomfortable?

Some of the other teachers noticed her sudden expression and started whispering to each other, wondering if they should go over to her and ask what was wrong. But then they figured she was just having another mini panic attack because something was dirty and decided against it.

Only Ken Tanaka, who was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria and was watching her the entire time, knew there was something wrong. He debated in his head back and forth whether or not he should go over there to ask her what was wrong. In the past year and a half he had been avoiding Emma and Will at all costs. He was slowly getting over the heartbreak Emma had put him through but he didn't want to deal with the awkward tension that would surely come from talking to either of them. But the part of him that still cared made up his mind for him and so he got up and walked over to her table, sitting down across from her. She didn't even seem to notice him.

"Uh...Hey Emin..." He paused and cleared his throat, "…Emma."

His voice seemed to pull her out whatever trance she was under and she looked at him, blinking back tears that had started to form in her eyes. "H-hi Ken." She muttered.

"What's the matter?" He cut right to the chase.

"Nothing." She quickly responded, swallowing hard. "N-nothing." She nodded once, letting out a deep breathe, obviously not believing her own words.

"Is it Schuester?" Ken asked bitterly. "Did he hurt you?"

Emma's eyebrows shot up and she shook her head. "No! No…" _not yet…_ "Will is great."

The skepticism was obvious on Ken's face but she couldn't handle anymore of the questions. She packed up her lunch and slowly rose from her seat, "I've got to go." She whispered to him and brushed past him and towards the exit.

She got to her office and put her Tupperware in the bottom desk of her drawer and sat down, letting out a breath. Her eyes travelled immediately to the picture of her and Will that sat on her desk. It was only a couple of weeks ago; Emma had gone to the glee room after she thought all the kids had left. The room was empty except for Will who was putting away some sheet music. Somehow Emma had ended up sitting on top of Will's lap with her arms around his neck and his arms securely around her waist. They both were smiling and laughing and then they saw the flash of the camera and then the giggling and scurrying away of some of the glee kids. The next day she found the picture on her desk and so she found a frame and it has been there ever since. Every day she would look at it and smile to remind herself of how happy they were and how this was her dream come true.

Apparently, they weren't as happy as she thought, if Will was going to break up with her. She felt herself starting to choke up at even the thought. What was she going to do if he did? She could barely handle it when he wasn't hers to begin with but how could she handle it when he was hers and then she lost him. Oh the heartbreak would be endless she was sure of it.

She shook her head and closed her eyes. No, she could not think about that. She was jumping to conclusions. Her sister had told her that fifteen years ago and she was still a teenager herself, what did she know about the male mind? Emma was the guidance counselor now, out of anyone she should know that Will wanting to end things was not the only possible reason he was avoiding her.

But the question was, if that was not it, then what was?

Rachel came to see her towards the middle of the day and the whole time she was grinning even more than usual. She talked about herself as usual not really letting Emma get a word in edgewise. Not that Emma really minded, if she could just half listen to Rachel and not give advice she could try to think of the reasons why Will was avoiding her.

After about fifteen minutes of Rachel talking, Emma had to cut her off short because she had an appointment with another student. As Rachel was leaving, she gave her a big, happy grin and she even squealed a bit before leaving the room which left Emma pondering what had caused that? Rachel and Finn had started going out months ago and if anything big happened between them surely Rachel would have mentioned that in her talk but she didn't. Perhaps Will gave her a big solo for glee but she would have mentioned that too. So Emma was completely baffled by her actions.

Later on while Emma was cleaning the windows to her office, Finn and Rachel passed her open doorway and Finn called in, "Congratulations Miss P."

Emma paused in her cleaning to give Finn a questioning look. Rachel slapped him on the arm hissing, "Shut up Finn!"

"Ow...what'd I do?" Finn mumbled rubbing his arm as Rachel dragged him down the hallway once again leaving Emma dumbfounded.

Now she had two things to think about. Why Will had not talked to her all day and why Rachel was overly happy, Finn had congratulated her and why Rachel was trying to be secretive about it.

While she was with her last student for the day, her eyes were drawn to outside her office where Will had stopped. His normal smile was on his face and he waved at her through the glass.

In that instant all her silly fears and insecurities disappeared and she smiled back. He looked around the empty hallway and then walked closer to the glass. His face scrunched up in remorse and he clearly mouthed 'I'm sorry' and then 'I love you'. He pointed down the hallway to say that he was going and then he kissed the inside of his hand and turned it around and held it inches from the glass. She bit her lip, trying to hide her smile and then he disappeared down the hallway. She knew she was just being ridiculous. Will was just busy all day and that's why he had been not talking to her. She couldn't believe she actually thought he was going to break up with her.

But her relief was only short lived. When she met Will after they had both finished for the day, he was slightly more talkative and more himself than earlier but still he looked distant.

In fact, in the car ride home he was uncharacteristically chatty. He talked about everything and anything that popped into his mind and often went off topic and Will was not one to ramble. So her nerves reared their ugly head again.

When they got home, once again Will was shying away from her. He would stay in the same room with her but he would never look at her for more than a few seconds. Eventually though he just plopped himself down on the couch and turned on the TV. She really started to worry when she realized he was watching a channel dedicated to infomercials….Will hated infomercials.

She realized, as she was pacing around the kitchen, that they were running out of food. She had a couple of hours before she started to prepare dinner so she decided to run out and do a quick shopping errand.

She grabbed her coat and bag and headed towards the front door, pausing only a moment to look at Will who was still watching the infomercial channel. "Will?" She called out to him.

"Huh?" He looked up and over to her.

"Um…we're running low on groceries so I'm just going to go run over to the store to pick up some things."

He nodded once. "Alright." Then he returned to his infomercials.

She frowned and headed towards the door but then she backed up. "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

Will looked up again and gave her a small, yet unconvincing smile. "I'm fine Em."

She sighed quietly. "It's just…" She took a few steps into the room. "You've been acting strange all day…"

His eyes widened in alarm and then his face returned to normal. "Really Emma there's nothing wrong."

"You know that you can tell me anything…right Will?" She asked quietly.

Will's face softened and he rose up from the couch, walking over to her and pulling her into his arms. He rested his head on top of hers and she rested her head against his chest. "Of course I know that Emma and if something was wrong I would tell you, I promise but its nothing." He pulled back to look down at her and she met his eyes. "Okay?"

She nodded and he smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you." He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and she smiled up at him, still not fully convinced that Will was really alright.

She took her time shopping, letting her mind wander again. Part of her had ruled out the 'Will breaking up with her' option but the other, more insecure part kept coming back to that. She knew she trusted Will and if he said that nothing was wrong that she should believe him. And normally she would if all evidence didn't point to the contrary.

About an hour later when she returned home, Will was waiting for her by the door. He ran outside to help her bring in the groceries and her mind was once again boggled because Will now seemed completely back to normal.

When they were putting away the groceries, he was smiling all his regular smiles, telling all his regular jokes that could make her laugh, just being the Will she knew and loved. While she was cooking, he set the table as usual and then stood behind her, nuzzling his nose into her shoulder.

During dinner they talked about the usual, although Emma tried to focus on Will mostly because she did not want to tell him about the fears she had of him breaking up with her or the fact that she felt lonely during lunch. What she did tell him was that Ken had come over and talked to her. Will seemed surprised and he got a protective edge to his voice when he asked her what he said. Emma reassured him that he was only coming over because she was by herself and he wanted to see how she was, which was the truth, and that they didn't talk long.

After dinner when all the dishes were cleaned and put away, Emma was looking forward to their cuddle time on the couch but Will apparently had other plans. He was seated at the kitchen table with a huge stack of papers.

Emma walked over and stood behind him as he looked over the papers. She slid her hands up his back and rested them on his shoulders and started to massage neck and shoulders. "Are those all Spanish tests?"

"Yeah." Will sighed. "I tell you this is the last time I ever procrastinate on grading these tests."

Emma glanced at the abundant amount of tests on the table and moved to stand beside him. "You know I took Spanish all through high school and college I still remember most of it. I can help you if you want."

Will looked up, the obvious relief on his face. "Emma, you are a life saver."

She smiled at the comment and took a seat across from him. He shuffled a few papers around and then took a quarter of the pile and placed it in front of her.

She and Will shared a small glance and a smile before staring to work on the papers. She graded the first paper and found it to be relatively easy. And after a few papers she realized that some of the kids didn't understand Spanish. At all. Most of them, by glancing at the names, were girls. She wondered if Will being the teacher had any effect on that. She knew if her Spanish teacher was Will she wouldn't be as good in Spanish as she is now.

As she graded she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Will kept glancing at her and when she looked up to see what for, he would quickly turn away like some junior high kid who got caught staring at his crush.

She ignored the nagging feeling at the back of her mind and focused on grading the papers.

She suddenly came to a sheet that only had one question on it. She furrowed her brow and looked behind that sheet of paper to see the other tests. They were exactly the same as the ones before it but yet this one was different. She shrugged it off, thinking that maybe it was another quiz that got messed up in the pile of tests. So she started to read the question and the answer the student gave.

_¿Quieres casarte conmigo?_

**I want a taco? **

Well she knew right away that that was not the answer. So she looked into the question and tried to translate it.

Will you mar-

She gasped and dropped the paper onto the table. Her eyes widened and she glanced over to Will, who was not in his seat anymore but instead on one knee right beside her chair.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she continued to stare at him with her wide, brown eyes.

"Emma…" He started, his gaze locked onto hers, "You're my best friend but you're also so much more than that. You're the one person I can turn to without feeling that I'm being judged. I trust you more than I have ever trusted anybody, I trust you with my heart and I trust you with my life. You are the one person that I have been waiting for all of my life. It took both of us thirty years and a lot of heart break to find each other but we finally did and this past year that I have been with you has been the most wonderful experience of my life. I never want it to end, I want to wake up every morning and see your smiling face, I want to go to bed every night hearing you say that you love me. I want you forever."

Tears started to well up in her eyes and she could only stare at him in shock as he turned, pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing the most simple yet gorgeous ring she had ever seen in her entire life.

"I love you with all my heart. Emma," Her eyes were drawn from the ring to his face when he said her name, "Will you marry me?"

A single tear rolled down her cheek and time seemed to stand still. She could see Will's anxious face staring back at her patiently awaiting her answer and how she longed to respond but her body was unresponsive. Just when Will's face started to grow a little worried, she lowered her hand, a breathing taking grin spread across her face and she threw herself at Will.

The force of her body sent them both flying onto the floor but Emma, for once, could care less. She grabbed Will's face in both of her hands and kissed him with more passion than she ever had before. "Yes." She mumbled against his lips after a moment. "Yes. Yes, oh God yes!"

Will didn't waste anytime, he kissed her back with the same amount of passion and she could feel his smile against her lips. She knew she probably had the exact same smile on her face.

Reluctantly, after a minute, Emma pulled away and looked down at him. Her vision was slightly blurry from the tears that had filled them but she could clearly see the happiness that radiated off of him. He sat up, pushing her off of him slightly in the process and they both remained sitting on their kitchen floor. Will took the ring out of the box, took her hand and slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. She smiled tearfully down at the ring and admired it for a few seconds before glancing back up at Will. Where as the ring was gorgeous and she loved it the REAL prize she wanted and received was the man sitting in front of her.

"Do you like it?" Will asked even though he knew the answer. She smiled and linked her fingers with his, nodding.

"I love it." She whispered. "But I love you more."

He grinned and the newly engaged couple leaned in for another kiss.

"Em?"

"Yes?"

"You know we're on the floor."

"Who cares?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Will, they're touching everything."

"I know Em."

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"They're touching _everything_."

"I know Emma."

"Will.."

"Emma!" He turned to face her with a chuckle and placed his hands on the side of her face, cradling it gently. "I know honey, it's okay."

Emma swallowed looking up into her husband's eyes, breathed in and out a couple of times and then relaxed into his touch. She closed her eyes and leaned her head forward, her forehead pressing into his chest.

Will's arms slid around her waist and held her close while she tried to get over her panic attack. As he comforted his wife, out of the corner of his eye he watched the movers taking trips in and out of their apartment and into the moving van sitting outside.

"Why couldn't you get the glee kids to do it?" She asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Because Em, its the summer before their senior year. They see us enough during the school year I don't think they'd want to spend their time helping us move."

Emma frowned and turned her head to watch the movers. She did not like the fact that people she didn't know were touching her furniture and the boxes that contained her valuables.

"I don't think they'd mind." She said. "They're six of the boys and some of the girls would be willing to help I'd think."

"Emma, in case you have forgotten one of them is in a wheelchair. And I don't think Kurt's idea of a good time is moving heavy furniture." Will replied.

"Well the other four are or were football players, Will they have a lot of muscle."

"So do these men." He motioned to the movers, now bringing out their couch.

"But I don't know these men." She mumbled into his chest, sighing quietly. She didn't know anything about these men, some of them looked like they might not have taken a shower in a couple of days. They looked sweaty and dirty and where anyone would moving heavy furniture, she would much rather have people she knew getting all sweaty and dirty while moving and touching her furniture. The glee kids were perfect. Especially Puck and Finn. Puck was very proud of his "guns" as he called them, and would show them off whenever he could. Surely he would have no problem moving heavy furniture especially when helped by Finn and the others.

"They're wearing gloves Em." Will said to try and calm her nerves about the situation.

Her eyes were drawn to the mover's hands and sure enough they were gloved. That did calm her down a little but not very much. The gloves were protecting her furniture from their own germy hands but who knows what the gloves had touched before this? She groaned and pressed her face further into Will's chest. She would have to do so much cleaning when they were settled in. Of course she would have to do that anyway because of the new house but now she would have to do it even more thoroughly.

"They should be wearing hazmat suits." She muttered.

Will laughed and she could feel the deep vibrations in his chest. "They're not diseased Emma."

"So says you."

He lightly grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her back to look at her. "Emma don't worry about it alright? If you worry you'll work yourself into a panic."

She sighed heavily and nodded once. She knew Will was right, she shouldn't be working herself up over this. But there was just something about strange men touching her furniture that irked her.

Will kissed her forehead. "I'm going to go and help them with some of the stuff alright?" He released her and took a step back.

"Will!" She cried out in a sudden panic and he turned back to her, eyebrows raised in question and concern. She could handle a whole lot much more if Will was near her. She didn't want to come off as clingy but especially now, she didn't know if she could handle watching the movers touch her things without Will by her side.

Will noticed the apprehension and panic in her eyes and he smiled warmly. "Honey, it's going to be alright."

He took a few steps towards her and leaned down and gave her one of the kisses that blew her away. After he pulled away, he smirked and left her standing there swaying back and forth, looking high off of his kiss.

By the time Emma came off her "high" Will was no where to be seen. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. That man and his breathtaking kisses could make her do anything.

She slowly looked around and spotted a bench near by. She carefully walked over to it, looked over it a few times to find the cleanest part of the bench, (she didn't have her gloves with her for once but she knew if she didn't sit down she'd be even more panicked) and then took a seat. She crossed her legs in a very proper like way, rested her hands on her lap and tried to look anywhere but where the movers were.

Her condo was located directly across the local park and it was a beautiful summer day and alot of parents decided to take their kids out to the small playground. She let a smile cross her lips at the sound of the kids laughing and playing.

The kids were separated, she noticed, by their age. Most of the young ones who were around two or three years old played in the small sandbox off to the side of the playground. The older kids who were around four to six years old played on the jungle gym in the middle of the playground and the oldest there who were seven to around ten years old played on the monkey bars and swings, obviously competing against one another on who could swing the highest or who could go across the monkey bars the fastest.

She noticed a little group of kids playing tag and running around the entire playground and as they passed the sandbox, the little children would look up to them in curiosity and wonder, and once they were out of sight go back to playing with their shovels and buckets.

Her eyes drifted over to the parents of the children who were sitting on benches near by, some of them with baby strollers. The adults all conversed happily, apparently all of them knowing one another for coming to the park so often with their kids.

Her eyes travelled back to the jungle gym where two boys were running in opposite directions over the rickety bridge connecting the two pieces. Another little girl went down the swirly slide and ran around the other side of the jungle gym, climbed up and ran back over to the slide, going down it over and over again. As that little girl was running off the slide and towards the stairs to get up again she got in the way of the older kids who were playing tag. A boy suddenly crashed right into her and the force sent her flying down to the ground.

Emma gasped and her hand flew over her mouth. The boy didn't even look back at the small girl he knocked down and kept chasing after his friends. The little girl sat up and looked around, from across the way Emma could tell the small child was going to burst into tears at any moment.

She scrambled to her feet and ran across the playground, passed the stairs to the jungle gym, with her arms outstretched. Emma followed her journey and saw the little girl running towards a man. The man turned, apparently hearing his daughter's cry and knelt down welcoming his upset daughter into his arms. The man looked no older than Will.

Emma moved her hand down to her heart. She could picture that being Will. Will would have so much fun taking his daughter out to a park like that. Will would gladly take his crying little girl into his arms and comfort her until she felt better.

She immediately thought back to when Will almost had his little girl. There was a light in his eyes that she never saw in him before and even though he was worried about being a good dad Emma had no doubt in her mind that he would be. He was so caring and loving any child would be lucky to have him as their dad. She could imagine a little girl sitting on Will's lap while he rocked her to sleep. Two years ago she would have pictured that little girl with curly blonde hair but the only image in her mind now was of a little girl with curly red hair and blue eyes, the same mesmerizing color as her father's.

Will had not mentioned anything about babies to her. The subject made him uneasy she was sure of it. He didn't want anything to happen like it did with Terri. Not that she would ever do that to him. Just the thought of hurting him like that made her queasy. And she wasn't so sure on the idea of babies either. Babies were the mother of all messes, she had to go to the emergency room last time her brother's baby boy spit up on her. Babies were cute...from a distance. She was not interested in holding one and she didn't know how she would ever handle changing a diaper.

However she felt her stomach drop at the thought, Will wanted a baby so bad. She knew that. And he was so good with kids. Her nieces and nephews just loved him every time they got together with the family. Where she would barely touch the children, Will welcomed the little rascals with open arms. He gave them piggy back rides and even crawled around on the carpet pretending to be a horse. In fact the kids loved him so much even before they were married they started calling him 'Uncle Will'. And what she, along with her whole family, thought was the most amazing of all was how her older sister's youngest took to him. Chelsea was the shyest and quietest little girl, she clung to her mother wherever she went and would barely even talk to the other family members. But when Emma introduced Will to her for the first time it only took a couple of hours for her to break out of her shell. Will was just sitting on the piano bench in her mothers living room talking with the rest of the family after dazzling them with his musical abilities. Then Chelsea got up from the safety of her mother's lap, walked over to Will and lifted her arms toward him. Will thought nothing of it and lifted her up onto his lap but when he looked up he saw the whole family had stopped talking and was staring at him with wide eyes and slacked jaws. No one could believe that the little girl had actually went up to Will and stayed with him for the rest of the night. She didn't even let her own father hold her sometimes. That day, Emma's sister swore that Chelsea has never spoken so much in her entire life.

Emma knew after that day that Will was even more special than she realized and if he ever had kids he would be the best dad in the whole world.

Emma sighed quietly as she continued to watch the little girl and her father. The father bounced her in his arms for a few minutes and then placed her back down on the ground. The little girl looked up at him, he ruffled her hair and with a smile, she ran back towards the playground.

Emma bravely looked back towards the moving van and saw Will walking down the path towards the truck carrying one end of their kitchen table with another man on the other side. She had to admit she felt slightly better knowing Will was helping them.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice one of the workers approaching her. "Mrs. Schuester?"

Emma jumped at the voice, still not used to her new name and title, but grinned at hearing it. She looked up to see one of the movers staring inquisitively down at her. He was a young man looked like he just got out of college and he looked alot less dirtier than the other older men.

"Your husband sent me to come get you." He explained and her smile widened. God, she was so in love with that man. Will specifically sent over this young man who he picked out as the cleanest to come over and get her. She looked around for the man who held her heart but couldn't see him anywhere.

She just smiled up at the young man and rose from the bench, straightened out her skirt and then followed him towards the truck.

She paused in front of the truck and stared at it in horror. "I'm not going to have to ride in that am I?"

The young man turned around and instead of giving her a weird look like she expected he only calmly shook his head like it was normal to be afraid of dirt and germs. "No your husband is waiting for you in the car parked in front of the truck." He explained and she breathed out a sigh in relief.

She thanked the young man politely and then walked around to the front of the truck and there was her car. From where she stood she could see the back of Will's head in the passenger seat. Behind her she could hear the movers slamming the back door of the truck closed and the engine start. She smiled brightly. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. She was actually moving into a house with her husband, the man of her dreams. It all just seemed so surreal. To make sure it was real she crossed her hand over to her arm and pinched the skin on her wrist. She smiled at the small and brief amount of pain.

Emma took one last look at her old condo where so much of her adult life had taken place. So many memories were there, both good and bad. She didn't want to leave the good ones behind but then she realized it wasn't the memories she really wanted. It was the man she made the memories with. And that man was hers and was waiting for her in the front seat of her car ready to start their new life together.

So without one look back she smiled and headed towards her car.

* * *

The house was not too far away from her old condo. It only took a few minutes by car and it was about halfway between the school and her old condo.

She pulled up in front of the house, shared a quick glance with Will and then looked out through the window at their new house.

It was an average sized white house with a spacious front yard, a stone porch, a built in swing, a nice bay window and a three car garage. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a nice, comfortable, easy living area, a full basement, a deck in a fenced back yard. The master bedroom was spacious with cathedral ceilings, large walk in closet and patio doors open to the deck. The master bathroom had a whirlpool tub and a separate shower stall. Over all the home was very lovely and after looking at it once, Will and Emma agreed it was the one.

Will was happy with it because it was no where near the size of the house that Terri wanted to buy. And what made Will even happier was the fact that Emma refused to buy any of the add on features that Terri wanted. Emma could care less about golden doorknobs, she just wanted a house that was clean and quaint. A very family-esque home nothing too expensive or showoff-y. And that is what Will loved about her that she would be perfectly happy with a small home. When he and Terri started to look for a home, that one caught Will's eye but Terri skipped right past it without a second glance. It was not Terri's style. But it was Emma's style and it was something they both agreed on. Plus it was not overly expensive and it didn't want to make Will bash his head into a wall when thinking about the price. He was comfortable with the price especially because both he and Emma worked and Emma pulled in a lot more money being a guidance counsellor than Terri did working 12 hours a week at Sheets -N- Things.

The moving van pulled up behind them and the movers got out of the truck and headed towards the back of the truck. Will looked over his shoulder at Emma and smiled brightly. Her face lit up as she smiled back. Will got out of the car and started walking towards the truck to help the movers out. Emma stepped out of the car slowly and just stared at the house while Will and the movers started to unload the truck.

"Hey Mrs. Schue!"

Emma turned around, frantically looking around for the source of the voice that called her name. Across the street, getting out of a parked car were Finn, Rachel, Puck, Matt and Mike. Finn was waving to her and she recognized his voice as the one who called her. She smiled, although slightly confused as to why they were there.

The four boys plus Rachel walked over to her and she greeted them with a friendly smile, "Hi kids, what are you doing here?"

"We figured you could use some help." Finn answered. "You know with moving in and everything."

Emma's eyes widened slightly and she threw a glance over her shoulder. Will was paused in the walkway, a box in his hands and when he saw her he simply smiled and continued on his way. She felt her heart swell with a love that was completely indescribable. He called them, for her, he called them.

She turned back to the glee kids and gave them a warm smile. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you to come. Um...well I guess you can just head to the back of the truck, start unloading things."

The four boys nodded and raced off towards the back of the truck and she could already tell the teenagers were going to start a competition on who could move her furniture the fastest. Rachel seemed to catch her look and rolled her eyes in understanding.

It was then that Emma took notice of what she was wearing. She rarely ever saw Rachel in any type of casual clothing. "You always have to be dressed for success!" She said once. "You can't go to a broadway audition in jeans and a T Shirt it just wouldn't be proper." But there she was dressed in jean shorts and a white tank top.

"I had to come to make sure Finn would not get himself into any trouble." Rachel explained seeing Emma's confused look at her choice of clothing. "And I couldn't just sit around and do nothing that would be incredibly rude."

Emma smiled warmly, "Thank you Rachel."

Rachel beamed at her and with a nod she stalked off in classic Rachel fashion towards the van.

After all of the big furniture was taken out of the van and set up in the house, Emma decided to be brave and help out bringing in the boxes. The movers had taken a break after working so hard for long hours but the glee kids were still contributing.

Towards the evening, Matt and Mike got called home for dinner and Puck made up some lame excuse and left with them. However Finn and Rachel remained to help the Schuesters finish up their moving. Will excused and paid the movers letting them go home telling them that they would finish the rest. So they emptied all of the boxes onto the front lawn and then the movers took off leaving just Will, Emma, Finn and Rachel.

Finn and Rachel helped Will and Emma bring the rest of the boxes into the house and once all the boxes were in, Emma even started to unpack some things. Most of the boxes she knew had to be left alone until tomorrow but some things she unpacked that she needed for the night such as sheets for the bed, towels for the shower, silverware, plates and other kitchen supplies. She did as little as she could because poor Will and Finn looked exhausted. Their T-shirts were soaked with sweat from working in the hot sun for hours and even Rachel's hair stuck to her sweaty face.

Just as the sun was setting and after Emma gave Finn and Rachel some refreshments to help cool them off and replenish their strength, the young couple took off leaving Will and Emma alone in their new home.

As soon as they were gone Emma was half tempted to run into Will's arms she was so ecstatic but when she turned to him she rethought that. Even though Will was one of the only people in the world that she would allow herself to be close to and touch without having a panic attack, there was one thing she wouldn't even go near her husband for. Sweat. It was smelly and sticky and she just hated it. She rarely ever got herself into a sweat and when she did she immediately had to take a shower because of the feeling it gave her. She didn't want to be repulsed by her loving husband so she decided to opt out on hugging him...for now.

Will, sensing Emma's discomfort, and hating the feeling of the sweat on his skin, took a quick refreshing shower and changed into some new clothes.

Will emerged from the bathroom to find Emma standing outside on the deck of the backyard looking up at the now night sky.

He placed his hands on her shoulders to alert her to his presence and then slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder, smiling at him and he smiled back, pressing a kiss to the side of her face.

"Welcome home Mrs. Schuester." He whispered into her ear.

A bright smile crossed her face and she turned in his arms, throwing her arms around his neck. She leaned up and met his lips in a kiss.

"I love you." She whispered against his lips. Against hers she could feel him smile. He didn't answer her in words but his lips pressed harder against hers and that was all the answer she needed.

"Come here." Will urged her after they parted. She glanced up at him quizzically and he only smiled. He released her, taking her hand and leading her out of the bedroom and down the hall towards the kitchen.

It was odd to her, seeing all her old furniture in a new setting. It was odd, yet she loved the feeling it brought her. She no longer rented a small little apartment. She now owned a house with her husband. She never thought the day would actually come.

Will sat her down at the kitchen table and he shuffled around the kitchen looking through cabinets, most of which were empty.

"Will? What are you looking for?" She asked curiously.

He didn't answer her but instead moved out of the kitchen and towards the living room where most of the boxes were stored. She could hear him shuffling through some boxes and then some glass clinking together. When he came back into the kitchen he was holding a bottle of champagne, two wine glasses and a packet of sanitizing wipes.

He placed them all down on the table, slid one glass over to her and the sanitizing wipes. She smiled up at him. How did she find a man who could not only accept her phobia but go out of his way to treat it as if it was normal?

After sanitizing both hers and Will's glass, Will poured each glass about half full and sat down across from her.

Normally Emma didn't drink alcohol. Alcohol led to messes and she could not deal with messes. But she let herself make a few exceptions like on her wedding day or a special toast. Like this one.

Will raised his glass in the air and Emma followed his lead. "To us. To our new home. To our new life."

"To us." Emma agreed and clinked her glass with Will's and then raised the glass to her lips to take a sip.

Later that night, after Emma showered and got ready for bed and then Will stepped in the bathroom to do his business, Emma made her way out of the bedroom and towards the living room where the boxes were stacked neatly.

She went through a couple of boxes until she found what she was looking for. She smiled at it and headed back to the bedroom just in time to hear Will finishing up in the bathroom.

She placed the object down on the nightstand next to her side of the bed and stared at it. Their smiling faces shined up at her in their wedding photo. In the picture she was securely wrapped in Will's arms and even through her thousand watt smile she could see the happy tears pricking her eyes. She couldn't remember a happier day than that of her wedding day.

Behind her she heard the bathroom door open and the light switch off and Will's footsteps padding across the floor but still she could not take her eyes off the picture. She heard the bed squeak and felt it move as Will climbed onto it and she giggled when she felt his lips on her shoulder.

Emma finally tore herself away from the memory of the most wonderful day of her life and turned to the man that made it so. She rested her hand on the side of his face and captured his lips in a kiss, bringing them both down to lie on the bed.

After a short kiss, Emma snuggled into Will's chest as Will's arm draped across her.

"Goodnight Em." Will whispered pressing a kiss to her forehead, his exhaustion clear in his voice.

Emma smiled into his chest and closed her eyes, letting her own tiredness sweep over her. "Goodnight Will. I love you."

"Love you too." He whispered against her hair and then let out a sleepy sigh.

Emma listened to the sound of his heartbeat until his breathing became strong and even signaling he had fallen asleep. Then without a worry about what she would have to do tomorrow, she slowly drifted off to sleep, safe and comfortable in her husband's embrace.


	6. Chapter 6: I

_**A/n: So this particular section of the story will be a two-shot. As you have probably noticed the one-shots are all related and in chronological order. This chapter and the next chapter will also be related and in chronological order but they will be more closer together than the rest of the chapters that follow. **_

_**So please tell me what you think of this chapter. I thrive on reviews!

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**_

Will was anxious to get home. All throughout the day he kept checking the clock. His students even realized that he was very distracted and he usually tried to keep his emotions hidden away and remain in teacher mode. But that day he just couldn't help it. He was worried.

At around four o'clock in the morning he woke up to the sound of sobbing. Still half asleep he felt around his wife's side of the bed and found it empty but still warm. He found Emma in the bathroom, leaning up against the wall opposite the toilet bowl, her knees curled up to her chest and sobbing quietly.

After a few minutes of sitting with her while she cried against him, he finally got a reason why she was so upset. She had woken up just minutes before he did and felt sick to her stomach, ran quickly into the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. In the few years he had known her he had never seen or heard her mention anything about vomiting, only that she disliked it with a horrible passion. He got the stomach virus once while they were dating and it was the only time Emma had ever avoided him like the plague. And now Will knew exactly why she did. For twenty more minutes Will held his shaking wife in his arms on the bathroom floor until Emma finally felt good enough to go back to bed. But before she did so she brushed her teeth about five times.

About two hours later when they woke up, Emma claimed she was feeling fine and went through her morning routine to get ready for work. However when she walked in the kitchen and found Will pouring himself a bowl of cereal, her stomach churned uncomfortably and she ran out of the room and towards the bathroom again. Will followed her to the bathroom and found her crying once again.

"Em," Will said lovingly taking her into his arms once again, "I think you should stay home."

She shook her head in protest, muffled sobs escaping her lips every so often. "Or at least go to the doctor honey...you want me to call your doctor?"

Emma shook her head but then paused and nodded. He kissed the top of her head and led her out of the bathroom and gently sat her down onto the bed. Emma collapsed onto her side her arms wrapping around her stomach, her small body shaking.

Will watched in concern as he picked up the phone and called her doctor. After a few minutes he hung up and walked over to sit down next to her.

"Emma..." He called gently. She opened her tired eyes to look at him. "Honey, you're appointment is at ten o'clock. I'm going to call the school and tell them we won't be in today."

"No Will." She responded, her voice shaky. "You go. I can get there myself."

"Emma you're in no position to drive..."

Emma shook her head in protest. "Figgins will kill us if we both miss. Will I'll be fine."

After a few more minutes of arguing, Will reluctantly agreed to go to work and let Emma go by herself. But he asked Emma to call him if she did need a ride and if she had any news afterwards.

But he had not heard anything from his ill wife all day and it was driving him insane. During his lunch hour he tried calling her cell phone and the house phone but he didn't get any answer. He tried again in between classes and still did not reach her. He even cancelled glee rehearsal so he could get home to her.

He practically sped down the streets, going just above the posted speed limit. He spun into the driveway, screeched to a stop and left the car parked outside instead of in the garage where it usually is. He ran through the front door and looked around the house.

"Emma?" He found her seated at the kitchen table, a few sheets of paper in front of her. When Will walked in some and could see her face more clearly he noticed she was staring horrified at the papers.

He felt a horrible feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. What was wrong? What was so bad that she was so horrified she couldn't even call him to tell him what it was? He took a seat across from her and she didn't even seem to notice him there.

"Emma?" He questioned again and reached for the papers. "What is it? What did the doctor say?"

When she didn't answer him, he slid the papers over to him and scanned over them carefully reading every detail.

Suddenly he froze and looked up, his eyes growing just as wide as hers. "Emma..."

Finally she seemed to acknowledge his presence and glanced up at him silently.

The corners of his lips perked up slightly as he held the papers in one hand. "Is this...? Are you...?"

She swallowed hard and nodded once. "I-I'm pregnant." She whispered, her voice laced with disbelief and shock.

A smile spread across his face but it quickly faded when he got a look at his wife. Emma's doe brown eyes were quickly filling with tears until they spilled over and rolled down her cheeks and her bottom lip started quivering.

"Hey." Will quickly reacted and moved his chair over to beside hers and pulled her into his embrace. "It's okay."

Emma closed her eyes tightly, gripping onto Will's shirt and let the tears fall. Her shoulders started shaking with sobs as Will rocked her back and forth.

She cried for several minutes without saying a word and Will whispered soothing words into her ear to help calm her down.

Her sobbing soon subsided and she just laid her head on his shoulder, breathing in and out evenly. Her eyes were focused on the wall ahead of her and where she didn't look as horrified as earlier she still looked very panicked.

Will constantly pressed kisses to the top of her head, ran his fingers through her hair and gently slid his fingers up and down her back.

"Em?" He dared to ask after a few minutes of silence.

A small whimper emitted from her and she gripped his shirt tighter. "I can't do it Will." She whispered.

"What can't you do?"

"This..I...I can't do this Will." She took a shuddering breath and pressed her face further into his shoulder. "I can't...I can't..."

He gently moved her away from him and brought her face up to look at him. Her wide eyes were rimmed red and still glistening with unshed tears. "Of course you can."

Her jaw clenched and she shook her head. "No." She whimpered. "I..I can't..I..."

"Emma," He cradled her face in his hands gently, wiping away the tears that had fallen with his thumbs, "Honey, look at me. What makes you think you can't?"

She stared up at him, her body shaking slightly under his touch. "It's all so messy...so messy." She whispered. "The pregnancy and the birth and babies...so messy." She closed her eyes and suppressed a sob. "I can't be around babies Will...you know, you've seen..." She whimpered again, her voice shooting up an octave. "I don't want to be afraid of my own child." Another round of sobs burst from her lips and her head dropped forward onto Will's chest.

Will's arms found his way around her again and held her tightly against him. He went through many different phrases in his head to try and say to her but nothing seemed right. So instead of speaking he just held her.

Finally after she calmed down again he found the words to speak, "You won't be afraid."

"But-"

"No Em, listen to me." He cut her off gently. "When you were younger or even before you met me did you ever think you'd be able to touch somebody so willingly as you do me?"

Emma was quiet for a couple of moments and then she mumbled a "No." She lifted her head to look at him. "I still can't touch anybody besides you."

"That's not true." He protested. "You hug the glee kids."

She shrugged her shoulders lightly and bowed her head. "The glee kids are tolerable but Will it took me a couple years to be even slightly comfortable around them."

"That's beside the point," He shook his head, "My point is that it didn't matter with me. You fell in love with me right? And that's why you're not afraid to touch me."

She looked up into his eyes and tried to recall the first time she realized that she didn't mind touching or being touched by Will Schuester. When she thought about it, it was almost instantaneously...

_Emma was walking down the empty halls of McKinley High School, ready but also nervous to start her first day as the guidance counsellor. She had her box of things she needed for her room in her hands as she tried to find the room number of her new office. _

_She remembered when Principal Figgins invited her to the school to tell her she got the job and he showed her briefly where her office was. But she still had trouble finding it and wondered aimlessly around the halls. She thought about going to Principal Figgins' office and asking for help but rethought it and decided not to. _

_Eventually she found the room. The lights were off and the door was locked much to her dismay. She tried holding the box with one hand while digging through her purse to try and find the key that Figgins gave her. _

"_Here let me help you with that." A warm male voice broke the silence and she almost jumped, startled. Then not seconds later she felt a pair of hands covers hers that were around the box. Her eyes widened and expected the first signs of one of her panic attacks. Her heart racing, feeling like the world was closing in on her and all she could see and feel were the germs. But at the same moment she looked up from her purse and over the box and her eyes landed on a young man with short, curly light brown hair and a smile that took her breath away. _

_The moment her eyes landed on him all thoughts of germs and dirt disappeared and she got lost in his eyes. She could barely feel him taking the box out of her hands. Only when his warm, welcoming smile turned into a look of confusion did she realize that she was staring at him. She blinked and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and blushed furiously, continuing to look for her key. _

_She shakily put the key into the lock and opened the door pushing it open. She flicked on the lights and looked around, thankfully the janitors had cleaned it up before she got there. She walked into her new office and could hear the man walking in after her. _

_She walked over to her desk and stood behind it and cast a glance over to the handsome stranger. He set down the box on one of the chairs near her desk and was smiling at her again. _

"_Thank you." She said shyly. His smile widened and her heart skipped a beat. _

"_No problem." He said shruggishly and then extended his hand out towards her. "I'm Will Schuester." _

_Her eyes widened at the implications of his actions and she stared at his outstretched hand. But instead of recoiling back as usual from a handshake, something was telling her to shake his hand. So she slowly reached out her hand and slipped her hand into his. "I'm...E-Emma. Emma Pillsbury."_

_He gripped her hand for a moment in a friendly handshake and then let it fall. Emma brought her hand back to her side and was amazed to find that she didn't want to go to the nearest bathroom and scrub her hand until it was clean. In fact she _wanted _to touch him again. Her hand tingled from his touch but in a way that made her feel good. _

"_It's nice to meet you." He grinned again and her heart took off like a rocket. _

"_You too." She whispered breathlessly and then her eyes landed on the box and the sterilizing wipes in them. In her distraction she had forgotten what she wanted to do once she got in the room and that was to wipe down every inch of her desk. "Could you uh...hand me that please?" She glanced up at him quickly and then motioning to the box._

_Will followed her gaze to the box. "Oh sure!" He lifted the box and then handed it over the desk to her. She muttered a thank you, placed the box down and took out the sanitizing wipes. Forgetting Will's presence for a moment she started to scrub down the top of her desk. _

_She lifted her eyes and saw Will was still standing there. Her eyes slowly travelled up to his face and noticed he was still smiling at her. She almost gasped and hastily gathered all the dirty wipes and tossed them into the garbage can near her desk. "I...uh...have a problem with um...you know...di-dirty...um...I like things to be clean." She offered in a lame explanation of her frantic cleaning of the desk. _

_But Will didn't look at her weird, he only shrugged and said, "That's perfectly reasonable. You're in a new school you don't know what touched that desk last." _

_A small smile spread across her face as she beamed up at him. Everyone that met her stared at her like she was some kind of freak and only when they got to know her better did they start to understand her mysophobia. But not this man, Will understood her right away and didn't judge her and even if he was thinking that she was a little strange nothing on his face or his voice showed he was. _

"_Do you mind if I sit down?" He asked nicely motioning to the chairs. Her eyes widened. He was asking her permission? Usually people would just not care what she thought or if they did ask it would be in a mocking tone. But from his tone she could tell Will really wanted to see if she was okay with it. _

"_Um..yeah! Go ahead." She motioned to the chairs and Will took a seat and she sat down in her seat as well. She shifted in the seat trying to get comfortable and used to the new chair and looked around at all the drawers in her desk. Later on she would have to clean the whole office. But right now her concentration was squarely on the man in front of her. _

"_So are you excited about working here?" Will asked, leaning forward in his seat. _

_She shrugged and then smiled, nodding slightly. "I suppose so...I'm a little nervous..."_

_Will nodded in understanding. "You'll love it here though. McKinley is a great school..." He rolled his eyes with a small smirk. "..for the most part." She had yet to understand what he meant by that but would soon come to know it came down to two words: Sue Sylvester. _

"_So what do you teach?" She asked placing her folded hands on her now clean desk. _

"_I teach Spanish." He replied._

_She smiled, impressed. "Spanish teacher. That's...that's really good. Spanish is a nice language." _

_He flashed her that grin again and chuckled. "¡Sí!"_

_A grin that matched his spread across her face and she giggled. Then she immediately scolded herself. What on earth was wrong with her? She never giggled! The last time she giggled was in college and some cute guy was hitting on her. Oh God...did that mean...? She felt the butterflies in her stomach and knew at once she started to crush on Will Schuester. _

"_Well," He let out a sigh and placed his hands on his knees, causing Emma to look at him expectantly. He rose to his feet and gave her another warm smile. "It was nice meeting you Emma. I should be heading over to my classroom." _

_She tried to hide the disappointment on her face. No! She didn't want him to go! "Oh..yes. Yes, of course." _

_Will walked towards the open door and paused in the doorway. "I hope to see you around Emma." _

_A bright smile crossed her lips at his words and nodded. "You too Will." _

_He lifted his hand in a wave before disappearing out of the door. As he left she could she a flash of gold on his left ring finger and her heart plummeted deep into her stomach._

Emma slowly came out of the memory and blinked to bring herself back to reality. "I never felt uncomfortable around you. Never. From the moment I first met you...it shocked me but you never made me uncomfortable. Which I think is part of the reason I fell in love with you. You were the one person who I wasn't afraid to and wanted to touch."

"Because you love me." Will repeated.

"I don't really know why...but I suppose so..."

"You knew from the moment you laid eyes on me that you weren't going to be afraid to touch me is that right?" Will questioned and she nodded.

"Other people you are afraid to touch but you're not afraid to touch me. That could be the case for our baby." He said and she looked up at him in question and wonder.

"Well," he continued, "You're afraid to touch other babies because they're messy. Our baby will be just as messy as the others but you might not see the mess or not be afraid of it because of that. Because it is _ours_. Just like me. I'm just as dirty or germy as every other human being but you're not afraid of me because you love me. And you're going to love our baby too and therefore you won't be afraid of its messes."

Emma's tears and sobbing had completely stopped at this point. She remained in Will's arms and just stared into his eyes as he talked and listened to his words. She often heard that parental love is the strongest love their is. She loved Will enough to see past his germs. Would she love their baby enough to see past its messes?

"Do you really think that Will?" She asked in a whispered tone.

He gave her a small smile and touched the side of her face lightly. "Of course I do Emma. Once you lay eyes on him or her, I promise you won't even have the slightest worry about how messy he or she is."

She bit her lip and rested her head back against Will's chest, hoping to God that he was right.

* * *

Not long after their talk in the kitchen, Will moved Emma into the living room so they could be more comfortable. Will laid across the couch and Emma nestled herself in between his legs resting back against his chest. Will wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Neither of them said much. Will knew Emma needed time to think over what he said and about the pregnancy in general. Emma was lost deep in her thoughts as she absently played with Will's wedding band.

"Will?" She prompted after a few more minutes of silence.

"Hm?"

She let out a heavy sigh, her eyes focused on the golden ring around his finger. "Why do you love me?" She tried to make it sound like a casual question but the morbid curiosity was lying right on the surface.

"What?" Will asked incredulously. "Emma, why would you ask that?"

"Because..." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Because, Will, normally when people get news like this they celebrate and I know how much you wanted a baby and I'm just ruining it for you with my stupid fears! Why do you love me?"

"Emma." He linked his fingers with hers and brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her wedding ring. "You're my best friend. You are the most caring person I know and the most honest. You're not selfish, you're always thinking of what you can do for somebody else despite your fears. And most of the time I find your mysophobia quite endearing."

"Most of the time." She repeated. "Would now be one of those times that its an exception?"

"Em," He furrowed his brow, "You're scared. You're not the first mother who is scared of pregnancy."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Of course not Emma." He replied, kissing her wedding band again. "I don't blame you for being scared and If I were in your position I'd be scared too."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Maybe." He agreed and she scoffed, closing her eyes. He placed a light kiss to the top of her head. "But I do understand why you're so scared Emma. And you know that I'll be here for you every step of the way. If you need a crying shoulder, I'm here. I love you for every inch of you Emma. Every flaw is precious to me." He brought their entwined hands to rest over her stomach and played with her wedding band. "This is what that represents." He lowered his mouth down to her ear and repeated the vows into her ear, "I Will, take thee Emma, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

By the time he was finished Emma was in tears again. She tried to hold back her sobs for as long as she could but eventually they escaped in small whimpers.

"Emma?" Will asked, concern lacing his voice. "Honey, what's the matter?"

She shook her head and took a shuddering breath, turning to face him. For the first time all day Will saw a hint of a smile on her face. "I just love you so much." She cried and before she could get another sound out Will leaned down and kissed her deeply.

* * *

Emma slept peacefully through the night. Emma was too upset and still too nervous about being pregnant that she wasn't hungry come dinner time. Will made himself a little dinner, cleaned up after himself not wanting to have Emma worry about cleaning dishes when she was so upset, and then returned to cuddle with his wife. She calmed down for the most part after that last breakdown. Occasionally Will could hear her sniffling but then it would stop after a minute or so.

Because she was crying all day and stressed herself out she fell asleep much earlier than usual still cuddled up to Will's chest. Will carefully moved to try and get the blanket hanging over the back of the couch and draped it over her. Emma sighed contentedly in her sleep and Will was certain he saw the trace of a smile on her lips.

Will carefully slipped his hands under the blanket and rested his hands over her stomach. It was still as flat as usual, Emma only being a few weeks along at the most. But just knowing that their growing child was safely rested in there brought a joy to his heart that he couldn't describe. His main concern earlier that day was to comfort Emma, he'd never seen her so upset and his first priority was to calm her down and he couldn't let himself think about the baby at all because seeing him happy might have made her upset. But now that she was asleep he could finally relish in the joy of her pregnancy. It would take some time but he knew Emma would come around and adjust to her pregnancy and learn to love the microscopic being growing inside her.

He was finally going to be a father. He couldn't believe it. He knew it was true this time too, he saw the results on the lab results. Not that Emma would lie to him, he knew without a doubt that Emma would never lie to him. But there was just something indescribable about seeing the words on paper AND hearing it out of her mouth. Will knew he couldn't wait to see the first sonogram. Emma would need to first start to be adjusting to the fact that she was pregnant and not burst into tears every time she thought about it. Because getting her to a sonogram would not be easy on top of her fears of the pregnancy.

He kissed the top of her head, rubbing his hand over her stomach gently. "I love you." He whispered into her hair, his words meant for both his wife and the baby inside her.

After a couple of hours of just laying there watching Emma sleep and getting lost in his dream land of the not too distant future where he will be having his son or daughter, Will felt himself starting to drift off. He knew Emma wouldn't appreciate sleeping on the couch all night so he decided to get her to bed. Instead of waking her up, he gently moved out from under her. She moaned in protest but didn't awaken. He carefully lifted her into his arms and carried her bridal style to their bedroom. He debated whether to wake her up to get her changed and ready for bed because he knew if she realized she didn't brush her teeth or take a shower before going to bed she would go into a panic. But on the other hand, she was sleeping so soundly and in about nine months she wouldn't be getting any sleep at all so he decided to just let her sleep in her clothes. He quickly went through his nighttime routine and then joined her in bed, once again cuddling close to her.

At around a quarter to six in the morning he woke up to the sound of the toilet flushing. The bed was empty next to him and he sat up slowly, anxiously staring at the door to see if she was just going to bathroom or if she had another attack of morning sickness.

The door squeaked open and Emma jumped at seeing Will awake. "Will!" She squeaked and he raised his eyebrows. "Gosh," She placed her hand over her heart, "You scared me."

"Sorry." He apologized and held out his arms for her. She anxiously glanced at the closet where they kept the towels but then shrugged her shoulders in defeat and walked over to the bed and climbed into his arms.

Now that she was closer to him he could see the redness to her eyes and heard the sniffling.

"Morning sickness again?" He inquired and she nodded against his chest.

"It sucks." She muttered sharply and he stared laughing at her bluntness. Emma lifted her head to give him an incredulous look and he started to cover his laugh with a cough and cleared his throat, looking away sheepishly.

"Sorry." He apologized again. "I'm just not used to you speaking like that."

The corners of her lips perked up slightly and she let out a half laugh herself. Then she sighed and pulled away from him. "I really need to shower."

He nodded and let her out of his arms. "Are you going to work?" He asked as she walked over to the closet to get her towels and clothes out.

"Of course." She replied looking over her shoulder at him. "Morning sickness its...horrible but its nothing I can control and I just have to deal with it. It's going to be happening for weeks Will and I can't miss work because of it."

"True."

She gave him a sad smile and then headed for the bathroom. He crawled to the edge of the bed towards her. "Would you like some company?"

She paused in the doorway and looked over her shoulder at him. He was poised at the edge of the bed with a seductive smirk on his face. "Will..." She gave him a look.

"You'll enjoy it." He waggled his eyebrows up and down. She scoffed and shook her head. She took a few more steps into the bathroom and then paused again. Rolling her eyes she looked over her shoulder to see him patiently waiting her response.

"Well...what are you waiting for?" She asked, raising one eyebrow.

A pleasant surprise lit up Will's face. Then he grinned and leapt off the bed, chasing a squealing Emma into the bathroom.

* * *

_**A/N: What'd ya think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know! **_


	7. Chapter 6: II

_**A/N: I did alot of research for this chapter. I don't know anything about pregnancy so I had to do alot of research to find out some things to be accurate. Emma is around eighteen weeks or five months for the majority of this chapter. **_

_**So that's all I have to say and I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

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**_

With a small sigh, Emma's eyes fluttered open. She looked around the dark room and then her eyes found her way to the clock and she let out another sigh. It was early but it was too late for her to go back to sleep. The alarm would be going off in just a half an hour.

The bed squeaked under her as she moved her body to reach her arm over and turn the alarm off. As she did so, Will's arm that was loosely hanging over her throughout the night slipped off of her and onto the bed.

Emma flipped herself around slowly to face her husband. He was still fast asleep and looking adorable with his face buried in the pillow. She reached out and lightly traced her finger down his jaw line, admiring him. Even at her touch Will did not stir at all, he was out for the count. She knew there was no use waking him up just because she was awake. Besides she loved to admire him while he was asleep. She often would wake up earlier than him and just watch him sleep. Occasionally he would wake up and catch her and after her embarrassment of being caught the first time, Will admitted that he also would watch her for some time after she fell asleep. She never thought watching the person you love sleeping could be so entertaining.

As much as she wanted to stay and continue to watch Will sleep she knew she should get up and start getting ready for the work day. She groaned inside her head, closed her eyes for a second and cuddled up under the blankets. It was so warm and she didn't want to leave Will's side.

But she reluctantly pushed herself up out of the bed but not before giving her sleeping husband a longing glance. She let out a small groan as she lifted her self up. She was so not used to the new weight she was carrying.

She quietly and slowly tiptoed around the room to gather her clothing in order to not wake up Will. She went into the bathroom and quietly shut the door. She took care of her business first and foremost. She had been having to go to the bathroom constantly over the last few weeks and it annoyed her to no end. Luckily the morning sickness stopped about a month ago. She was so ecstatic when it went from happening every day to every few days to every week to every few weeks to none at all. She knew that in the first twelve to thirteen weeks of her pregnancy she had vomited more than she had in her entire life, maybe even counting her infancy.

Luckily she was able to control it more at school. It was more of a mind over matter thing for her. She hated vomiting to begin with but the thought of doing it in public was absolutely horrifying to her. She felt incredibly nauseous throughout the day but she managed to push it back. It slipped out of her control once in a while and every time, after she was done, she would make her way over to Will's room, hope he wasn't in the middle of teaching and break down in his arms. Then after she let it out for a couple of minutes, she composed herself, thanked Will and made her way back to her office. There were the few occasions where Will was involved in a class and so she managed to suck it up and just cry quietly in her office for a little while.

But there was one time where it was really bad. She was so nauseated in the morning and Will even mentioned that she looked a little pale. He suggested that she stayed home but she refused. When she got to school she only lasted an hour before running to the bathroom. She knew Will was in a class so she didn't even bother going to his classroom. She was fine until after lunch. The little she did eat for lunch was removed from her stomach and she started crying before she even left the bathroom. At that point in time they were still trying to hide the pregnancy and it was easy because Emma wasn't really showing much at all. But unfortunately for her a few students were in the bathroom during her last morning sickness episode and rumors started flying. But for then she ignored the whispers of the students and practically ran down the hall straight for Will's room. She paused in the doorway and Will was explaining the difference between 'ser' and 'estar'. Will didn't notice her at first and in fact it was one of his students in the front row that did.

"Mr. Schue?" She called, breaking into his explanation and pointed to the doorway. Will followed his student's motion and his eyes grew in alarm at the sight of Emma's upset face. He quickly excused himself, leaving the classroom, closing the door and Emma collapsed into his arms apologizing for interrupting his class and for being an emotional mess. Will comforted her the best he could knowing that she just needed to get it out. It took her a little more time than normal for her to calm down and even when she did she didn't want to leave Will. Will let her come into the classroom because he did need to finish his class. She tried to hide the blush on her cheeks when all 25 pairs of eyes were on her as she walked into the class and took a seat at Will's desk. For the rest of the time her eyes remained fixed on Will as he stood at the board and taught the class.

After that things had calmed down a little. At least morning sickness wise. Before the end of that week the whole school was talking about the rumor of Mrs. Schuester's pregnancy. After one class kept pestering him, Will finally broke and told his students that yes, he and Emma were expecting their first baby. He apologized to Emma later on and where she would have liked to keep it a secret for a little longer she didn't blame Will for telling them. If she were as excited as he was about the pregnancy she would have wanted to tell the whole world.

Emma felt relief once she emptied her bladder and then she started the shower and shed her clothing. She stepped towards the shower about to get in when she stopped, seeing her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes were drawn immediately to the middle part of her body. Everyday she examined herself in the mirror and everyday she seemed to be getting bigger. Will noticed the drastic changes from when her flat stomach started expanding but she noticed the mere millimeters it grew every day.

She placed her hand over her bare stomach and smiled. During the first few weeks of her pregnancy she was still panicked even thinking about it. When she first started showing she panicked again because she was so used to her flat stomach she didn't even want to think of what she would look like over the course of the nine months. And as time went on her fears lessened but were still there especially when it came time for her next doctor's appointment. She scheduled it for after school hours so she could be sure that Will was there. There was no way she was going there by herself. She held onto Will's hand the entire ride over there and waiting in the waiting area and even in the doctors office. She closed her eyes when the doctor brought out the gel and shuddered when it was placed on her bare skin. She gripped Will's hand tighter and buried her face into his arm as she felt the doctor move the scanner around in circles on her bare skin.

"There we are." The doctor proclaimed and she heard Will's awed voice whisper in her ear, "Open your eyes Em. Look."

She carefully peaked open one eye and looked at the screen. Her other eye quickly opened and she stared in wonder at the screen.

"Your baby is right here." The doctor pointed to the screen and made a circle with his finger around where the baby was.

All thoughts of the cold and slimy gel on her stomach and every other worry she had simply evaporated as she stared at the little dot on the screen that was her and Will's baby.

Her eyes filled with tears and she managed to take her eyes off the screen long enough to glance at Will. He was staring at the screen, his eyes glistening with unshed tears and then he looked down at her. They shared a loving smile and Emma leaned up and softly kissed his lips. Once she laid back down, Will kissed the top of her head and they both returned their eyes to the screen.

Ever since that day Emma's fears have been, for the most part, blown out of the water. She thought back to what Will said to her the day she found out she was pregnant. _"Once you lay eyes on him or her, I promise you won't even have the slightest worry about how messy he or she is." _ And he was right. He was so right. She hadn't even met the baby yet all she saw was a little dot on a screen that didn't resemble a human being in any way shape or form but that little dot filled her with the same love, the same warmth, and the same comfort she got when she looked at Will.

Her next doctor's appointment was in about two weeks and the doctor told her that if they wanted to they could find out the sex of the baby. Personally, Emma wanted to know. She wasn't a big fan of surprises and she liked to be prepared for everything. She wanted to have the room that was going to be the nursery either decorated for a girls or decorated for a boys. When she brought up the subject of finding out the sex of the baby to Will and her views on it, he said that he didn't care what they did. Then they both agreed that waiting the last eighteen weeks not knowing whether their baby was a boy or a girl was torture enough and they would like to spend the second half of her pregnancy knowing. That and Emma didn't really like calling the special creation of their love an 'it'. The baby was special and 'it' was so demeaning. So the both of them were very excited to finally label their baby a 'he' or 'she'.

Emma ran her hand along the curve of her stomach, smiling at the thought of her baby resting safely inside. It was remarkable. She always wondered what it would feel like to be pregnant and yet never thought she would actually become pregnant. But now that she was, once she got past her fears, she couldn't explain how amazing it felt to have a growing life inside of her. A life that she and Will created. Her grin broadened and she looked down at her baby bump.

The steam from the hot water was quickly fogging up the mirror and creating a mist of steam in the entire bathroom but she didn't seem to notice. Her hair had begun to stick to the sides of her face from the moisture but she could care less. She was fully focused on her baby.

Her thoughts were so heavily occupied she didn't hear the bathroom door opening. Only when a larger pair of hands covered hers was she alerted to her husband's presence. Instead of being startled like she normally would be her grin widened even more and she rested back against Will's naked chest.

She felt Will pressing feather light kisses along her shoulder blades and neck and her eyes closed at the feeling. She giggled when his breath ticked her ear and soon she heard his husky voice in her ear, "You're so beautiful Em."

His hands left hers and gently caressed the soft skin of her stomach. She tilted her head back and rested it against his shoulder, her mouth parted slightly. Will then spun her around to face him, grabbed hold of her hips and as gently as he could pushed her against the wall, attacking her lips.

Emma was taken aback, Will was rarely so forceful. But she could feel his hunger for her and in the pit of her stomach she could feel her own desire building. The in love, hormonal part of Emma wanted to continue what she was doing with Will but the rational side of her brain took over.

She slipped her hands up his bare chest and reluctantly pushed him away. "Will..." She groaned breathlessly. "We can't."

Will lifted his head to meet her gaze and she was almost taken in by the lust in his eyes. She traced her finger up his neck and to his jaw line and rested her hand on the side of his face, giving him an apologetic look. "I have to shower Will. We have to get ready...separately or we'll never make it to school on time."

Will sighed heavily and took a step back, his eyes never leaving hers. In them she could only see one question: Later?

Emma gave him a small smile and a nod. Will smiled back at her and turned to leave and as he was doing so Emma subconsciously reached out and slapped his behind.

Will paused and looked over his shoulder, cocking an eyebrow. Emma smiled coyly and his eyebrows shot into his hair line. Once she realized exactly what she did her whole body flushed red. That was so out of character for her. Her pregnancy hormones were making her act so strangely.

Will grinned at her and blew her a kiss as he left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Emma smiled as he left, waited for the door to be closed and then finally stepped into the shower.

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Emma nodded along as one of the students of McKinley High School sat in her office and droned on and on about how he hated his math class and how his teacher was out to get him.

She had her legs crossed tightly trying to withstand the uncomfortable pressure the baby was once again putting on her bladder. She was trying to pay attention to what the kid was saying but she found that it was rather hard to concentrate when she felt like her bladder was going to explode. She had just went to the bathroom an hour ago too! So far she was not liking this aspect of the pregnancy.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and held back a groan. She did not want to let on to the young teenage male that her mind was somewhere other than him.

As discreetly as she could Emma glanced at the small clock on her desk. There was only fifteen more minutes until the period ended. She could survive that long couldn't she?

Emma suppressed a groan once again. Why did she have to drink so much water? Oh that's right because her body craved it even more than usual.

Being pregnant was driving her absolutely insane.

She tried to clear her thoughts thinking that maybe if she didn't think about going to the bathroom it wouldn't be so bad. Emma turned her attention back to the boy who was still going on about the teacher hating him.

"...and get this, ok? She marked my answer wrong on this big test we had and I'm not really that good at math so I thought okay maybe I did get it wrong but another student got the same answer I did and they got it right! I asked her about it after class and she said that my four looked like a nine or something but my four clearly looks like a four I just don't understand..."

The boy kept going on but Emma once again did not have her mind focused on him. Her eyes widened and her hand flew down to her stomach. She could have sworn that she felt it jerk. The boy's voice was now a fading background noise as she focused on feeling for it again.

She waited five minutes...six....seven...eight....nine....and then...

There it was again, a jolt. Movement from inside of her. The first sign that there was actually a living being growing inside of her. A bright smile spread across her face and luckily the boy was so into his one sided conversation that he didn't notice her distraction.

Emma glanced eagerly at the clock, there was about four minutes left until the end of the period and time was ticking by agonizingly slow. She wanted to get out her office and not because she had to use the bathroom. In fact her bladder didn't seem to bother her anymore. She wanted to go to Will.

Emma watched each second tick by and when there was one minute left on the clock, the teenager finally asked her what he should do.

She managed to curb her excitement for just a minute longer and gave her advice to him. At least, the best advice she could only hearing a few phrases of the almost thirty minute speech he gave her. But the boy seemed satisfied with her answer and with just ten seconds left before the bell rang, he stood up and thanked her.

Emma nodded at him and bit her lip, feeling the smile creep on her face again as the last few seconds ticked away. The bell rang and she rose from her seat faster than she ever had before. She quickly glanced around and the boy was nowhere to be found and he must have slipped out in the last few seconds she had been intently watching the clock.

Emma quickly sped out of the room, leaving the door open unlike she normally did whenever she left her room. She made her way through the crowd of students, carefully avoiding skin contact and winded up standing in Will's doorway.

A few of his students were just leaving and slid past her to get out into the hallway. Will was standing over his desk with a girl standing next to him as he was explaining something to her. The girl nodded along, apparently trying to understand whatever Will was telling her.

"Thanks Mr. Schue." The girl smiled up at him, gathering her books into her arms. Will smiled back, "Anytime."

The girl turned to leave the classroom and Will followed her with his eyes and caught Emma standing there.

"Oh hey Em, you didn't have to come down here. A student just needed my help with something I would have met you down in the teachers lounge." He explained, shuffling the papers on his desk and then finally turning to face her.

Emma's excitement bubbled over until no coherent words could be formed so instead a thousand watt smile spread across her face. The smile reached her eyes and lit up her whole face.

Will always found her smile infectious so he couldn't help but smile back but there was also a hint of confusion on his face. "What?" He laughed and then looked down at his shirt, pulling it down slightly. "Did I spill something?"

Emma shook her head and walked into the room, her grin never leaving her face. She walked up to stand in front of Will and grabbed his hands in hers. Then she placed them over her swollen stomach and held them there.

Will's brow furrowed in confusion. "Emma what...?"

"Shh..." She cut him off. "Just wait." She whispered and stared up at his face. Will was very perplexed but did just as he was told. Emma wanted to see his reaction once the baby moved again.

The couple was standing there for a couple of minutes not saying a word. The second bell had rung signaling the beginning of the next period and the hallway had gone dead quiet.

Will was about to ask what was going on when suddenly he felt a little kick against his hand. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly. "Was that...?"

Emma grinned up at him and whispered in her best high pitched baby voice, "Hi daddy."

Shock was the most prominent emotion on his face but that only lasted a second or two before it was replaced with unsurpassable joy. The grin that lit up his face matched hers and her eyes twinkled in delight at the sight of the raw emotions on his face. "Oh my God!" He laughed, still holding onto her stomach and he knelt down so his was face was aligned with her stomach.

"Hello to you too." His voice was low and chocked up with emotion.

Emma slid her hand across her abdomen and smiled again, "I think it can hear you Will."

Will glanced up at her in wonder and she beamed. "You probably can't feel it but I can. When you spoke it moved."

"I love you." He continued speaking to it. "I'm very excited to meet you." He looked up at her again curiously. "Anything?"

Emma shook her head, "Not that time." She placed her hands over his and pulled him to his feet.

His hands left her stomach and moved to cradle her face. She smiled brightly up at him and Will was staring down at her with such love in his eyes her heart fluttered. "That was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced." He whispered and a grin remained glued on his face. "I love you." He said shaking his head slightly. "So much."

She beamed, her face alit from the glow of pregnancy and her own happiness. Seeing Will so happy made her feel so good. She wished she could watch his face for hours maybe even days as he talked to their baby. Whenever Will mentioned the baby his face would light up like she had never seen before and she knew when he was thinking about it because it also lit up then. Seeing Will happy made her happy. She could forget about the annoyances of her pregnancy when she saw Will's happiness and when they had moments like these.

"I love you too Will." She replied breathlessly, slipped her arms around his neck, rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. Will eagerly responded, his hands sliding off of her face, down her shoulders, her sides and finally resting on the sides of her stomach.

For the next several minutes the couple were blissfully unaware of anyone or anything but themselves.

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_**A/N: Who saw the newest glee promo?? Where Will and Emma are in her office and Will says "there are so many things you don't know about me and I can't wait to introduce them all to you" and then it shows Will and Emma dancing and then kissing! So cute!!! I can't wait for April 13th!! **_

_**Review if you agree with me!!! **_


	8. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Sorry I kind of disappeared on you guys! I haven't forgotten about you or this story! This story is not going to go unfinished because I do have the last chapter written already. it's just the in between's that might take a while. It's not as long as the other chapters but I hope you still like it! Don't forget to review!

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It must be the middle of the night, Emma thought. Her eyes were closed yet she could feel the darkness of night. Her eyelids were heavy and she couldn't open them, nor did she want to. She hadn't had a goodnights sleep in months and that night seemed to be going undisturbed.

Emma turned to lay on her side and instinctively reached out to snuggle close to her husband but her hand fell on an empty bed. She furrowed her brow, forced her eyes to open a crack and sure enough Will's side of the bed was empty. However the sheets were still warm so he must have gotten up recently.

Emma slowly sat up, squinting into the darkness. "Will?" She called out sleepily. She waited for a response but received none. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and glanced over her shoulder at the time and then groaned. 2:27. Why did she have to be up? Her body was begging her to fall back into bed and go back asleep. But her curiosity as to where her husband was got the better of her.

Emma crawled out of bed and slipped into the slippers by her bedside. She grabbed her robe off the back of the bathroom door and headed towards the door. It was left a crack open and she could faintly see a light coming from outside.

Emma pulled the door open and peered outside, waiting a moment for her eyes to adjust. She then tightened her robe around her and padded out into the hallway. The light, she discovered was coming from the kitchen.

She came to the kitchen doorway and her face lit up. Emma leaned against the door frame watching adoringly as her husband swayed around the kitchen floor, humming quietly and staring lovingly at the small bundle in his arms. Will was so absorbed in his daughter that he didn't even realize his wife standing in the doorway.

From where Emma was standing she could see that their daughter was also staring, wide awake at her father. Ever since she was born, Will always had the same look whenever he looked at her. Emma's heart swelled whenever she saw Will and their daughter bonding. She was so happy that she was the one to give Will his dream.

Emma continued to watch the adorable sight before her and Will remained oblivious to her presence for several minutes. Emma just didn't have the heart to disturb their moment.

Emma's hand flew to her heart when her little girl lifted up her chubby little arms and Will extended his hands toward her. Her whole hand could wrap around Will's pointer finger. As the their daughter held onto his finger a smile that lit up his whole face appeared.

Then Will brought the baby towards his face and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. The baby let go of Will's finger and grabbed the first thing that was closest to her which happened to be Will's nose. Will's face scrunched up in a funny expression and a high pitched tinkling laugh emitted from the baby. Will's chuckle soon followed and then was proceeded by Emma's who couldn't help a small giggle at the sight.

Will lifted his head, the tiny hand releasing his nose as he sent a surprised look towards the sound of the laugh. "Emma. How long have you been standing there?"

Emma gave him a smile as she stepped into the kitchen. "A couple of minutes. You were so absorbed with Jenalyn I didn't want to disturb you." She approached him slowly, glancing at their daughter tightly nestled in her father's arms. "I didn't hear her crying. Or you getting up."

Will's lips twitched in a small smile. "She wasn't crying. I couldn't sleep and got up to watch her sleep. What a surprise it was to find that she was awake too making cute little baby noises." He said the last few words in baby talk, looking down towards Jenalyn and tickling her belly. Jenalyn grinned up at him, two little white teeth poking out of her toothless gums.

"Look Jen, mommy's here." Will said sweetly to the baby and tilted his arms up so Jenalyn could see her mother.

Emma's heart leapt when the word 'mommy' escaped Will's mouth. She was still not used to the word being applied to her.

Jenalyn squealed in Will's arms and started wriggling around. Will chuckled and glanced at Emma. "Looks like someone wants her mommy."

Emma simply smiled and held her arms out. Will walked over to her and carefully handed the 3 and a half month old to Emma. Emma glanced lovingly down at her daughter once she was in her arms. As nervous as she was during her pregnancy she was pleasantly surprised that she didn't mind holding her daughter. She didn't even mind changing her diaper that much. She would prefer not to and luckily her sweet husband took care of most of the dirty diapers but she wasn't absolutely repulsed. Emma could handle cleaning up the spit up on that would dribble onto the little one-sies that her daughter was dressed in but it was when Jenalyn spit up on _her_ that she had the problem. The first time it happened Emma sat there for a good five minutes with a screaming two day old baby girl in her arms frozen to the core. Will finally realized what was going on and cleaned up Jenalyn and put her in her crib and then helped to calm down his wife. The times after that were much the same although not quite as extreme.

Jenalyn furrowed her little brow and waved her hands up and down as she stared into her mother's eyes. She started to whine and fuss, her tiny mouth opening and closing.

"I think she's hungry." Emma said observing her daughter's behavior.

Will lifted his brow and headed towards the refrigerator. "Do you want me to get the bottle?"

"No." Emma whispered, smiling down at the baby. She moved towards the table and took a seat, Jenalyn still fussing in her arms. "Shh, shh baby it's okay. Mommy's gonna feed you."

Will leaned against the refrigerator, his arms crossed over his chest, watching mother and daughter with a surprised yet pleased look on his face.

Emma pulled open her robe and slipped her shirt down her shoulder so Jenalyn could get access to her feeding area. Jenalyn latched on eagerly and Emma tried to ignore the odd feeling it gave her. Emma preferred not to breast feed even though the doctor told her it was what was best for her daughter, it all depended on her mood whether or not she was willing to do it. Jenalyn loved it though and preferred it her bland baby formula which helped persuade Emma into feeding her the natural way.

Will walked away from the fridge and towards the table, taking a seat across the table from her. He rested his arms on the table and watched his wife and daughter together. Emma was oddly relaxed as their daughter fed and she even had a loving smile on her face.

"You are amazing." Emma lifted her head when she heard Will's voice. She cocked an eyebrow at him with a small smile.

"How well you're adjusting to her and to the messes she creates." Will went on. "It's amazing."

Emma smiled sheepishly and glanced down at Jenalyn who's eyes were starting to droop as she still suckled gently. "I have to. I can't let her suffer."

Will's brow furrowed. "Suffer? Emma...what are you talking about?"

Emma sighed quietly and turned her attention back to Will. "Just because you can put up with my crazy doesn't mean everyone is able to."

Will stared at her incredulously. "Em, that's ridiculous she loves you!"

A small smile tugged at Emma's lips. "She's three months old Will, she loves anything that moves."

Will's face fell in exasperation. "You know that's not true Emma. You are her mother, your relationship is special. She's connected to you in a way that no one else can understand."

"Now she does but Will, I see hundreds of kids who tell me that they hate their parents, that their parents are ruining their lives." Emma looked down at the little girl in her arms again. "She's going to be one of them one day. I don't want her to hate me anymore than she already will. I don't want her to think that her mother is crazy. I don't want her to be crazy." She shook her head, biting her lip lightly. "Will I've lived like this my entire life and I know how difficult it is. I have been shunned by people my entire life because of this." Emma lifted her eyes to meet Will's. "I was lucky enough to find you. Someone who accepts my problems and loves me anyway. I don't want her to have to go through that pain of being rejected just because of me." Her voice started to shake and her brown eyes filled with tears. "I need to do the best I can for her." She lifted her hand to caress the soft skin of her daughter's cheek. Jenalyn instinctively leaned into her mother's touch as her eyes fluttered closed. "I love her so much."

"You see." Will spoke, the awed, loving expression still on his face. "This is exactly what I mean about you being amazing. You're willing to put yourself in a position that your uncomfortable with to do the best for her. That is real love Emma."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at Will, a hopeful smile on her face. Will returned her smile. "And besides that look how far you've come. Years ago you'd never be able to go near a baby none the less her dirty diaper. Nor would you be able to feed her like that." He motioned to Jenalyn resting against Emma's chest. "I am so proud of you Emma. How you're handling everything to do with her is just amazing."

Emma's face lit up though her eyes were rimmed red from her tears. "You helped a lot with that Will. Just by being with me it helps me. No one else would get me to hold a baby. No one else would be able to even come close to making me have a baby."

"No one else better." Will threatened jokingly and Emma grinned at him.

"Believe me Will. You are the first and only one who I let, and not only let, longed for something more than hand holding to occur." She blushed lightly as a shy smirk crossed her face. "You are the only one who actually makes me want to to get messy."

Will smirked and waggled his eyebrows up and down a few times. Emma chuckled and shook her head quietly, Will's soft laughter soon joining hers.

Jenalyn detached herself from her mother and her tiny mouth opened in a yawn. Emma fixed her shirt and then carefully lifted the three month old up and started to gently pat her back. The little baby let out a quiet burp and Emma and Will shared a small smile. Emma brought Jenalyn back to rest in the crook of her arm and she stared up at her mother with wide blue eyes and started gurgling.

Will observed in happy amusement and Emma smiled widely down at her. "I think she's talking to you Em." Will laughed.

"Are you talking?" Emma asked sweetly to her daughter. "Huh? Are you talking?"

Jenalyn stared up at her curiously, continuing to gurgle. From across the table Emma could hear a high pitched voice, obviously trying to make it sound like it came from the baby. "Mommy I love you."

Emma lifted her head and glanced lovingly at Will. Will grinned at her in response. "Don't look at me, she said it."

Emma slowly shook her head, a smile glued onto her face. "Thank you." She whispered and he shot back a quick wink.

Jenalyn started waving her arms up and down, gently slapping Emma's hand that was rested on her belly. Then she grabbed hold of Emma's finger and pulled it towards her mouth, then she put the tip of Emma's finger into her mouth and looked innocently up at her. Emma froze at feeling the slimy, wet drool around her finger. Her eyes widened and her breaths started coming out short and quick and the baby continued to suck innocently on her finger. "Oh Gosh." She muttered.

"Emma?" Will asked in concern.

Emma took a few deep breaths and slowly pulled her finger out of her daughter's mouth, trying to ignore the trail of spit that came with it. "N..No, its okay...I'm okay..." Emma swallowed hard and looked up at Will, trying to push back her anxiety. "Can you take her?"

"Of course." Will answered quickly, rising from his seat and carefully lifting Jen out of Emma's arms and into his own. Jen stared at Emma, her mouth in a small "o" shape and then slowly lifted her gaze to Will and kicked her legs playfully.

Emma closed her eyes tightly for a second and then got up and walked over to the sink, washing her hands for almost a minute and then grabbing the nearest hand towel. Emma slowly placed the towel down on the counter and slowly turned to face Will. He was standing in the middle of the kitchen, bouncing Jen in his arms, staring at his wife in concern. "Emma..." He started and Emma sharply shook her head to stop him from continuing.

"This is exactly what I mean Will." Emma spoke flatly. "I can't even let my baby suck on my finger without having an anxiety attack." She buried her face in her hands and then slipped her fingers through her messy red hair, letting out a deep breath as Will furrowed his brow in sympathy.

"Em...it doesn't matter."

"Don't." She whispered. "Don't say it doesn't matter Will. It does matter, I can't give my baby what she needs."

"No Emma." Will protested, walking towards her. "Look at her." He turned Jen in his arms so she could look at her mother. Jen, upon seeing her mother again, gurgled happily and a smile lit up her chubby face. "She loves you Emma. She's always going to love you whether she acts like it or not. She's not going to care what you do or what you don't do. You are her mommy, she's going to think the other mommy's are weird because they don't clean everything."

Emma tried to hide a smirk as she looked down at the ground.

"The love between a child and her mother is the truest love of all. You don't need to get to know her and she doesn't need to get to know you for you to love each other, it happened instantaneously. It took me years to finally admit to myself that I had feelings for you and I love you more than anything, imagine how strong her love is. She's not going to hate you Emma, she's going to love you for who you are just as I do." He shrugged lightly, "And so what you can't put your finger in her mouth? How long is that stage going to last? A year at most? The most important things you already know how and are comfortable with doing. You can hug her, you can kiss her, you can change her diaper, you can love her and that's that most important thing."

Emma bit her lip and tearfully looked up at Will. He gave her a sure nod and looked down at Jen who was sucking on her own thumb, looking around the room with her wide blue eyes. "Tell mommy how much you love her Jen." He pointed towards Emma with his free arm and curiously, Jenalyn followed the direction of his finger and her eyes landed on Emma. Emma gave the baby a small smile and Jen stared at her for a few moments and then a small smile spread across her face. She flapped her arms again and made a loud squeaking noise.

Emma smiled warmly and slowly walked over to her husband and daughter. She gently reached out and stroked the soft red curls atop the small child's head. Then she leaned down and kissed her forehead. Jen squeaked again and then yawned, her eyes fluttering closed and she cuddled instinctively into her father's chest.

"I love you too baby girl." Emma whispered to her. Emma gently ran her finger down the soft skin of Jenalyn's arm. When she got to her hand Jenalyn stretched out her fingers and wrapped them around Emma's, squeezing it tightly. She started to bring it up towards her face and Emma felt her heart drop, closing her eyes tightly. She was waiting for the slobber on her finger but it never came. She peaked open one eye and smiled warmly at seeing her daughter holding Emma's hand to the side of her face.

"See." Will whispered.

Emma lifted her head to meet Will's gaze. Her smile widened and she lifted herself onto her toes to kiss him softly. "I love you." She whispered against his lips then opening her eyes to look at him. "You always know what to say. I don't know how you do it."

Will smirked smugly. "Guess I'm just good like that."

Emma smirked shaking her head at him and he chuckled, leaning forward to kiss her head. "I just know you very well."

"I thought someone knowing me that well that they'd know exactly what to say to me would be a little scary but you change everything Will." Emma responded. "I really don't know how to thank you."

Will shook his head slowly, a small, genuine smile creeping onto his lips. "You don't need to thank me Emma."

"I do though." She sighed contentedly. "For everything. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to find someone who could not only understand my problems but love me with them. I never thought I'd find someone who made me want to have a baby. I never thought I'd meet someone who could calm me down just me giving me that smile, just by one touch."

Will flashed her a heart melting, butterfly inducing, head spinning smile and moved his free hand to brush the back of his hand along her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed, she leaned into his touch and giggled. "Exactly like that." She whispered. Emma reopened her eyes and caught Will's loving gaze. "You're amazing too Will."

Will shrugged and she nodded. "You are Will. No one else was able to deal with my crazy the way you can."

"You're not crazy Emma. Everyone has their fears yours just happens to be of germs and since germs are everywhere you constantly need to clean. I deal with them because I love you and its more than just dealing with them. I don't mind it because its who you are and what makes you special. I fell in love with all of you Emma, including your mysophobia. You wouldn't be my Emma if you didn't clean your grapes before eating them." He joked but there was still a seriousness under it. Will was a very sincere man, he always meant what he said and said what he meant. Emma trusted his word like she didn't trust anyone else. She even trusted him more than she trusted herself which is why she was able to live through her pregnancy and the first three and a half months of her daughter's life.

Emma smiled sweetly up at him and then looked down to Jenalyn who had fallen asleep and loosened her grip on Emma's hand. Emma slipped her finger out of Jenalyn's hand but her tiny hand still remained at her face. Emma chuckled at how adorable her daughter could be.

"Let's put her to bed." Emma suggested quietly. Will nodded in agreement and the couple walked slowly and carefully to the nursery.

Will lightly kissed Jenalyn's forehead, whispered, "I love you" and placed her in her crib. Jenalyn let out a little sigh and her hand fell to her side but she didn't awaken. Emma moved to the other side of the crib and pulled the little pink blanket over her.

Will and Emma stared at their sleeping daughter for a minute or two more and then shared a loving and tired look. Emma walked around the crib and towards Will who reached out his hand and took hers. They intwined their fingers together and slowly walked out of the room, Emma closing the door behind her.

They walked back to their room and never letting go of each other's hand, collapsed onto their bed. Emma groaned and curled into Will, gripping onto his shirt and closing her eyes. "Why did you get up again?"

Will chuckled softly and kissed her head. "She would have woken us up anyway. She was hungry."

Emma moaned sleepily in response and her eyes fluttered open as she turned her head up to look at him. "I don't want you to go tomorrow." She mumbled.

He smirked and pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. "Tomorrow's Saturday Em, no school."

A small smile tugged at her lips and she cuddled her head into his chest. "Good." She sighed.

Will chuckled again and flipped onto his back, pulling Emma along with him so her head was using his chest for a pillow. Emma, with her eyes closed, felt around for the blankets and then pulled them up over herself and Will.

"Emma?"

"Hm?"

"We left the light on."

"Don't care." She mumbled sleepily and then groaned when Will got out from under her. "I'll be back in a sec." He reassured her and went to turn off the light and then returned to his space in the bed. Once he was settled, Emma returned to her place on his chest.

Will closed his eyes, sleepiness finally taking over his body. He wrapped one arm around Emma, holding her close to him.

"Will?" Emma whispered, her voice laced with heavy sleepiness.

"Yeah?" Will muttered in response, starting to drift off to sleep.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

The corners of Will's lip tugged up in a small smile. "I think you've said it once or twice."

"I love you." She repeated, letting out a sleepy, happy sigh. "Very," She yawned, the yawn slurring the words, "Very much."

"I love you too Em." Will whispered. "Very..." His voice started to trail off as he fell asleep. "very..." He let out a quiet breath and finished barely audibly, "..much."

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_**Review if you liked this chapter and/or you liked Hell-0. **_


	9. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Well I must apologize for my absence. I had no motivation for this story or an idea to go with. Thankfully a very sweet reviewer helped confirm an idea that I had floating around in my head that I wasn't sure about it. Here it is and I hope you enjoy it:

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"Daddy?"

Will glanced through his rear view mirror at his little girl in the back seat. Her red curls hung just past her shoulder and her tiny body looked even tinier in her car seat. She held a stuffed puppy in her arms that Will had bought for her after Emma almost had a panic attack when Jen asked her for a real one.

He smiled at the innocent look in his daughter's wide brown eyes that matched her mothers.

"What is it sweetie?"

"We're gonna go see Mommy right?" The three year old asked.

"Yes Jen, we're going to see Mommy." He replied, turning his eyes back to the road. "We're going to see your new baby sister too."

"We are?" Jen asked and Will could practically see her face lighting up.

He chuckled a response, "Yep."

"Is she pretty Daddy?"

Will smirked waiting for the inevitable: the loads of questions his young daughter was sure to ask him. Then his smirk grew into a bright smile as he remembered the sight of the newest edition to his family.

Jen being born was the most memorable experience of his life and nothing could ever replace the sight and the feeling he felt inside when he saw his first child enter the world. But it was chaotic, Emma was panicked and despite the doctor's and nurses attempts to calm her down, the only thing that would calm her slightly was Will holding her hand. The birth was messy as expected but to his surprise Emma handled it alot better than he thought she would. During almost the whole birth she either had her eyes closed or they were completely focused on Will's face. When Jen was finally born, they placed her on top of Emma's stomach. She stared down at her daughter for a few seconds, a smile on her face and happy tears spilling out of her eyes. Then her eyes widened slightly and Will could see that her face paled considerably. Will ordered the nurses to take the baby away, knowing what was coming. The final stages of one of her really bad panic attacks always ended in two things: vomiting and then passing out cold.

The birth of their second daughter went slightly better. Emma knew exactly what to expect and remained more calm during the labor. The actual birth went quicker than the first and the nurses knew not to put the bloody, slimy baby on top of Emma.

Emma seemed confused as they took her baby away from her and almost went into a panic thinking something was wrong. Will was quick to reassure her that they were just cleaning her off.

After they thoroughly cleaned off the newborn they brought her over to Emma and she willingly took her daughter into her arms. Even though the infant was clean of all messes, Emma could still smell the blood in the air. She didn't get sick like the last time but Will felt it was best to take their new daughter to the nursery until Emma was all cleaned up herself and feeling alright.

After crying for a little while for having the baby taken away from her, Emma put herself to sleep and while she rested, Will made his way down to the nursery feeling happier than he ever could remember. He and Emma had successfully brought another human life into the world and their new daughter, Kathryn, and Jen were the two most beautiful little girls he had ever seen.

"She's very pretty." Will spoke dreamily.

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Kathryn."

"Kaffrin?" Jen repeated with her three year old lisp. Will laughed, quickly glancing back at her for a second.

"You can call her Kate." Will offered and through the mirror he could see her smile.

"Okay!" Jen looked away from him and down to the stuffed mutt on her lap. She pet the fake dog's fur and Will was surprised that she was done with her questioning.

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes and then Will heard her small voice singing along to the CD he had popped into the car stereo. He smiled as he listened to Jen sing. Even at three years old, he could hear the singing potential she would have when she was older. He had no doubt of the ability of her voice even when she was just a tiny baby. She didn't cry very much but when she did it almost shook the entire house. Their neighbors even told them a few times that they could hear her crying. With a voice like that and the singing ability from him and from Emma, he had no doubt that when she eventually got to high school she'd be another Rachel Berry. Just not with the attitude.

Will chuckled under his breath as he found himself humming the latest Disney song, nor did he care. He felt as happy as the animated talking animals sounded singing their song.

He pulled into the hospital parking lot, paying the parking fee, and finding a spot that was closest to the entrance.

When they stopped, Jen looked up from petting her dog and looked out the window to the large building. She furrowed her little brow and glanced at Will. "Daddy, is Mommy okay?"

Will unbuckled himself and turned to face her. "Of course she is baby."

"We're at the hospital daddy, thats where really sick people go." She pouted and Will could see the tears starting to fill her eyes. He quickly jumped out of the car and walked around to the back to unbuckle her from her seat belt.

"It is where sick people go yes but it is also a place where mommy's go to have babies." Will explained and lifted her out of her seat.

"It is?" Jen asked, wrapping her arms around Will's neck.

"It is." He nodded, moving out of the car and kicking the door closed. With his free hand he opened the passenger front door and pulled the teddy bear that his mother had bought him to give to the baby.

"Do you want hold the present for Kate?" He asked Jen, holding the white bear out to her.

Jen's face lit up and she nodded, reaching out to grab the bear from his hands, cuddling both the bear and her puppy against her chest.

Will chuckled and kissed the top of her head, closed the door, and headed towards the entrance of the hospital.

When they reached the maternity wing, Will waved at the nurses' station. They had come to know him quite well over the last couple of days because he visited the nursery so often and left the hospital and came back so many times.

A nurse in purple scrubs approached them from down the hallway and smiled at seeing Jen in Will's arms. "So this is the big sister we've heard all about huh?"

Jen clutched onto Will tightly and leaned into his shoulder. She was very talkative and outgoing around her family but when she met new people she became shy and reclusive, hiding near the closest parent.

Will looked down at Jen and bounced her once on his hip. "It's okay sweetie, this is Patty, she is a very nice nurse who helped Mommy."

Patty, a nurse who looked only a couple years older than Will, smiled brightly at Jen and held out her hand. "It's very nice to meet you Jen, your mommy and daddy told me all about you."

Jen eyed her hand warily and Will nudged her encouragingly. "Shake her hand Jen."

Jen moved closer to Will and shook her head. "Her hand might be dirty Daddy, I can't."

Both adults chuckled at the comment.

"Like mother like daughter." Patty remarked. She knew the Schuester family very well, assisting in not only Kathryn's birth but Jen's as well. Both times she helped sterilize a room for the incoming mother so with all that was going on she wouldn't have to worry about germs from the hospital room.

"You have no idea." Will laughed. "We have a little Emma running around the house."

Like she had told Will when Jen was just a baby, Emma tried to keep her crazy out of her daughter and the for the most part she succeeded. Emma taught the girl normal, clean habits such as washing your hands before dinner and not shaking someone's hand that might not be clean. She taught Jen to clean up any mess she made and to be careful when she ate. Will knew their daughter's cleanliness habits could have been worse and quite frankly, he was glad that she developed them. Jen didn't get sick as often because of it and they didn't have to worry about her dragging all sorts of messy and dirty things all over the house. Will knew from babysitting Kendra's kids that two and three year olds liked to get into anything they could, they liked to spill things, take things out and put them all over the place. They liked to get messy. Will was thankful that Jen was not like that at all. When she would take things out to play with them once she was done she'd put them all back and if she accidentally spilled something, if she couldn't reach the napkins herself she'd call for one of her parents to help clean it up. In more ways than one, Jen was similar to her mother and that only made Will love both of them more.

Patty smiled at him and glanced at Jen once more. "Well it was a pleasure to meet you Jen. Your mommy is waiting to see you."

Jen lifted her head off of Will's shoulder and she smiled brightly. She quickly turned to her head to look at Will. "Daddy, can we go see Mommy now please?"

Will chuckled. "Of course we can."

Will and Patty shared a nod before Will headed off down the hall towards his wife's room. He smirked to himself as his daughter practically bounced in his arms barely able to contain her excitement to see her mother.

Will reached Emma's room and knocked on the door as he walked in, "Knock knock." He grinned as he walked in.

Emma was sitting up in the hospital bed, her red hair pulled back and glowing radiantly.

Jen squirmed in his arms and he placed her down onto the ground.

"Mommy!" She squealed and ran over to the bed. Emma moved, her arms out stretched and helped Jen onto the bed. Jen threw her arms around her mother and buried her face into her chest causing Emma to laugh.

Emma kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back soothingly. "Hi baby girl."

"Mommy I missed you." Jen murmured into her chest, her soft voice muffled by the hospital gown.

"I know baby, I missed you too." Emma whispered to her, burying her face into her hair.

Will smiled, standing near the edge of the bed, watching his two favorite girls bonding. He never would get tired of watching Emma be a mother to their daughter and now daughters. Emma adapted to motherhood alot quicker than either of them thought she would. Will knew it would take some time for Emma to overcome her fears and insecurities and many times throughout the first year of Jen's life, he found Emma crying because she thought she was such a horrible mother. He constantly told her otherwise and once Jen was old enough to speak, she did too. The first word that she spoke was 'Mommy' and she clinged to Emma where she went.

"You had a good time at Grandma's house though right?" Emma asked after a few minutes and Jen had pulled away to just sit on her lap.

Jen nodded enthusiastically. "Grampy let me sleep in the big bed all by myself!"

"Oh did he?" Emma glanced at Will who gave her a sheepish shrug. She sighed and turned back to her daughter pushing a stand of hair behind her ear. "You weren't scared?"

Jen ducked her head. "I was a little. Grampy came in and slept with me the first time and then I got to sleep in Grammy and Grampy's big bed with them."

"That was very nice of them." Emma commented and Jen nodded again.

"Yeah but I missed you and daddy." Jen pouted her tiny pink lips and Emma smiled, poking them with her fingertip.

"You saw Daddy last night right?"

"Uh huh!" Jen's smile returned. "I slept with Daddy last night. I couldn't sleep though because daddy said we were gonna see you in the morning."

"And you were excited to see me?" Emma's face brightened.

"Very much!" Jen exclaimed with a wide grin.

"I couldn't wait to see you either." Emma smiled as Jen rested her head back against her chest. "I missed your hugs."

Jen tightened her grip as best she could around Emma and she chuckled lightly, kissing the top of her head.

Emma looked over her daughter's head to her husband. They locked eyes and shared a warm smile. They had both missed each other over night. Will wanted to stay with Emma again but Emma insisted he go home and get a good nights sleep instead of crashing on the uncomfortable chair near her bed.

Will slowly walked over and leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. Emma smiled into the kiss and after it broke their foreheads came together in a loving touch.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Will asked, lifting his head.

"Like I want to go home." Emma replied instantly, almost like she had planned the answer before hand.

Will smirked and dropped a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sure you won't be here too much longer."

"I hope not." She grumbled and looked around the bright, white room. "It's too white here and I don't care how clean they say it is I feel so uncomfortable in this bed and in these clothes. I just want to go home, take a shower, put on one of your big T-shirts and relax in my own home."

"I don't think we'll be doing much relaxing." Will said pointedly, sitting on the edge of the bed. "If Kate is anything like this monster," he motioned towards Jen resting comfortably on top of Emma, "we won't be getting any sleep for about six months."

"Honestly, I'd prefer no sleep in my own home then getting sleep in this place." Emma replied.

"You say that now." He chuckled, half serious.

"I mean it Will, you know how much I hate hospitals. The faster I can get out of here the better."

"We'll talk to the doctor." He rested his hand over hers and squeezed it lightly.

* * *

"Here we are." Will pushed the door open to their house, carrying the baby carrier. He walked inside followed by Emma holding Jen's hand.

He carried the baby carrier into the kitchen and placed it on the table. He lowered the cover and smiled down at the small infant. He ran his finger very lightly across her forehead and then dropped a small kiss to the top of her soft head. "Welcome home Kathryn."

The sleeping child didn't make a sound or movement. He looked over his shoulder seeing Emma and Jen standing in the doorway. Jen wordlessly looked up at Emma and Emma nodded her head. Jen let go of her mother's hand and walked over to Will.

Will lifted her up to stand on the chair in front of the baby and held around the waist.

"She's really small." Jen whispered, staring at Kate.

"Yes she is but she's going to get bigger. Each day she's going to get a little big bigger and bigger." Will explained.

"You were right Daddy, she is very pretty."

Will kissed the side of her head as they both focused their attention on the small sleeping child.

Emma slowly walked into the kitchen, stopping on the left side of Will. Will turned to look at her and Emma turned her head to face him. They both smiled and Will took one arm and wrapped it around his wife still holding up his eldest daughter with the other.

Emma rested her head against Will's shoulder and together they all relished in the warmth and love of their family.

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_**Would it be too much to ask for a review? I hope not! **_


	10. Chapter 9

_**A/n: Here I am again! Sorry about the gap in updates. I'm busy and I keep getting smacked in the face with one medical problem after the next. First I can't sleep or eat for like a month, go to get blood taken, find I have an over active thyroid, now I'm on some medication. Then I get rushed to the ER with a mild concussion because a TV fell on my head and a week and a half later I'm still getting killer headaches. Plus I've been on vacation and trying to look for a job and I'm in a skit for VBS. I have practically every chapter written out in my head I just need to get them written down on the computer.

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Emma sighed heavily as she shuffled into the doorway, kicking off her shoes, not even bothering to make sure that they were neat. She leaned up against the door and closed her eyes tightly.

She had just returned from her last therapy session. Emma hadn't gone to therapy in years but after her third (and last, she concluded to herself and Will) child she'd fallen into postpartum depression. She handled the births of her daughters very well but when her son arrived, combined with the stress of having two other young children to take care of and Will at work leaving her at home to fend for herself, she snapped.

Will had come home that day to the sound of screaming, the shrill cries of his few month old son and the softer cries of his three year old daughter. He had called out to his wife and he heard the patter of footsteps and Kathryn came running down the steps and launched herself into his arms, her sobbing intensifying. Will tried to ask the little girl what was wrong but she was too hysterical to answer. He found his way to the nursery where the screams of his son got even louder and he was met with the overpowering aroma of a dirty diaper. After he had cleaned Benjamin up and helped soothe his crying somewhat he went to look for their mother.

Emma was curled up in the fetal position on the floor in their bedroom, dressed only in a towel, her skin fire red and her whole body shaking. Her hands were clutched against her chest, her eyes wide and panicked but no matter how hard he tried to coax her out of it she wouldn't budge.

Not minutes later he got a call from Jen's school to say that Emma had not arrived to pick up from school and that she refused to get on the bus. Will quickly piled his other two children into his car, reluctantly leaving his wife where she was.

After he picked up his eldest daughter, he also reluctantly, drove his children to his parent's house. He had no warning to tell his mother not to drink because he was bringing the children over but he had no other choice. Kate had already witnessed Emma's meltdown and he wouldn't subject Jen to seeing her mother in that condition.

After dropping his confused and scared children off at his parents, he headed back to Emma and found her in the same place he had left her. He swiftly scooped her up into his arms, took the towel off of her and wrapped her instead in his bathrobe, tying it as tightly as he could around her frail body.

He drove her to the Emergency Room and once she noticed she was in the hospital, she started to go into one of the worst panic attacks Will had ever seen. She was screaming and crying and thrashing and not even Will's presence could calm her down. The nurses finally were able to sedate the hysterical woman and Will felt absolutely helpless.

After she woke up nearly twelve hours later, she was met with Will's worried, concerned and scared face and broke down into silent tears. The hospital's psychologist recommended that Emma goes into therapy for the postpartum depression. The idea wasn't very welcome to Emma but after a long talk with Will, she finally agreed.

She remained in therapy for the past year and had recovered from the depression so her therapist discharged her permanently, only following up once a year.

Emma was relieved to be released and to be back to her normal (as normal as she could be anyway) self.

She let a peaceful smile spread across her face when she heard giggles from her daughters and hearty laughter from her husband floating out of the kitchen. She hung her jacket up in the closet and headed towards the kitchen, anxious to see her family.

However, as she stepped into the doorway, her whole body tensed. Her entire kitchen, along with her daughters and husband were covered in white powder. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out and she continued to stare in shocked silence at the disaster in her kitchen.

Will was the first one to notice Emma in the doorway and his smile fell at the look on her face. Catching their father's distraction, Jen and Kate turned and grinned at seeing their mother. "Mommy!" They both squealed and waved.

Emma was frozen to the spot, her eyes zeroing in on the mess covering her children.

"Mommy we're baking!" Four year old Kate exclaimed, pointing to the bowl on the counter.

"Um...girls?" Will gently placed his hands on both of their backs and they turned to face him. "We're done with all the ingredients okay? Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath okay?"

Jen furrowed her brow and turned to glance at her mother who still hadn't move and had a horrified look on her face. "Mommy?"

Kate followed her sisters look and she frowned. "Mommy?" She mirrored her sister's concern.

The youngest daughter started to step towards her mother and Emma visibly flinched. Kate stopped and her wide brown eyes filled with tears. "Mommy?" She squeaked.

Will quickly stepped in and wrapped his large arm around his small daughter. "Go upstairs with Jen." He whispered into her ear and Kate turned to look at him, her small pink lips puffing out in a pout. He kissed her forehead and grabbed the seven year old's hand slipping the two sisters hands together. He gave Jen a gentle pat on the butt and with another sad look towards their mother, scurried out of the room. Will waited until he heard their footsteps go up the stairs before he addressed Emma.

"Em..."

Emma lifted her hand to stop his words and her eyes fluttered closed. She heard a happy squeak from the other side of the room. Her eyes snapped open and she looked over and saw Ben in his high chair, the chair and his body also covered in the white flour. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to glare at Will.

"You got it on the baby?" She hissed quietly, shuffling across the room quickly, lifting the messy child out of his chair. Ben kicked his legs in her arms and out stretched her hands towards his mother, grinning toothlessly.

"He saw us having fun. I just gave him a little to play with." Will explained calmly.

Emma whirled around to face him, her eyes narrowing. "Fun? Fun? The kitchen is destroyed Will!" She screeched.

He gave her an exasperated look. "It is not destroyed Emma. It's just a little flour we can easily just clean it up."

"Just a little flour?" She repeated and stormed over to him. "This is not just a little flour Will! Look around, does this look like a just a _little _flour to you?" She flew her free arm into the air.

"I was going to clean it up Em, its no big deal." Will had learned to be patient with Emma over the course of their marriage. She panicked about the littlest things sometimes and he knew that if he got angry with her it would only make the situation worse. He tried to keep that in mind.

Emma shifted Ben on her hip, ignoring that the baby was getting her yellow cardigan feathered with white flour and glared darkly at Will. "It is a big deal, Will. I just went through a year of intensive therapy so I could get back to normal and I come home to...to _this. _Will, what on Earth were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that the girls wanted to bake some cookies and it wouldn't hurt to let them have a little fun with it." Will replied.

"And you're idea of fun is destroying our kitchen?"

Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sighed. "It's just a little mess Emma. Our kitchen is not destroyed."

Emma clenched her jaw. "Don't get frustrated with me, Will. You are the one who created this...disaster."

"I was going to clean it up before you even got home. I didn't expect you to be home so early." Will replied, trying to keep his voice even.

She scoffed. "Oh so you thought that was a plausible solution? Clean the mess up before Emma even gets home? That way it never happened."

Will crossed his arms over chest, shaking his head. "I don't know what you want from me Emma. I planned to clean it up before you got home so you wouldn't have to come home to it, so you wouldn't have to deal with this."

"Well that didn't work out the way you hoped did it, Will?" She snapped.

"I'm going to clean it up, Emma."

"That's not the point Will!" She cried. "You know better than anyone how much I detest messes."

"You've gotten alot better at handling them, Em." He answered.

"I did until the whole post partum situation. I'm very sensitive right now Will, especially about messes and germs. It's like all those years that I spent with you and the progress I made didn't even happen. I'm back at square one Will. Just as bad as I was when I first started working at McKinley." She shook her head, giving him a frantic look. "What did you think would happen Will? That as soon as I got over my depression I'd be able to jump into a puddle of mud with no problem?"

"Of course not, Emma."

"So you expected me to be fine with coming home to not only my kitchen but my children covered head to toe in flour?" She fired back.

Will sighed heavily. "No, Emma but..."

"But what Will, but what? I don't want to hear your excuses." She placed her other hand around Ben and lifted her off of her hip and extended him out towards Will. "Take him and get him cleaned up and help the girls with their bath."

He stood staring at her for a good few seconds, unmoving before Emma rolled her eyes and thrust her son into his arms. "Just go Will."

Will wrapped one arm tightly around Ben, holding him to his side and extended his other arm towards Emma.

Emma glared at him and took a step back. "Don't you dare touch me." She hissed.

Will dropped his hand to his side and after a few moments of staring intensely into his wife's eyes, he walked out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs, leaving Emma alone in the mess of their kitchen.

Will trudged up the stairs and headed into the bathroom, where his two girls were seated quietly in a bathtub full of water, slowly washing themselves with a wash cloth. Both girls looked up sadly at their father as he entered.

"Daddy?" Jen whispered. "Did we do something wrong?"

"Are we in trouble?" Kate added fearfully.

Will's face softened as he knelt down in front of the tub. "Of course not sweetie. You girls did nothing wrong."

"But Mommy had that look on her face." Jen replied, her wet red hair sticking to her face and shoulders. "The one she gets when we did something wrong."

"She's not mad at you, I promise. I'm the one who was bad. I'm the one in trouble." He offered them a small smile to comfort them but the girls seemed skeptical.

Will let out a quiet sigh and rose to his feet, undressing Ben from his onesie and diaper and kneeling back in front of the tub. "Jen, can I trust you to hold on to Ben? I'll be back in a second."

Jen nodded quietly. "Yes Daddy." She held out her skinny arms and Will slipped Ben into the water, making sure Jen was holding onto him tightly before slipping out of the room.

From downstairs he could hear cabinets slamming and Emma's frustrated grunts. He wanted nothing more than to go down to her. He hated when Emma was angry with him and he hated when he was frustrated with Emma. His relationship with Emma was different than his relationship with Terri. With Terri, fighting had become a ritual, a part of their daily life together. It always frustrated him but he rarely ever wanted to go to her and ask her forgiveness. With Emma, it was different. They rarely ever fought and when they did, as soon as they parted to cool off, he found himself feeling guilty and wanting to apologize and make it better. But he knew that Emma needed her space for awhile and he would not be disturbing her until that kitchen was clean to her standards.

He quickly ran to the girl's room and grabbed two clean sets of clothes and grabbed something for Ben as well. He grabbed three towels from the hallway closet and then headed back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

The girls had not moved in the water but Ben was flailing his arms and legs happily, splashing water onto the walls, his elder sisters and the floor.

Jen, with one eye closed to avoid the splash of the water, turned to look at her father pleadingly. "Hold onto him for a little bit longer okay Jen?"

"Okay daddy." Jen sighed.

Will smiled slightly, turning to his youngest daughter. "You all clean Kate?"

Kate nodded wordlessly and lifted her arms up. Will removed her from the water and wrapped her up in a towel, ruffling her wet hair. It was something he'd do after every bath-time, he'd take the towel and cover her head, ruffling her wet hair in it and cause her to erupt in a fit of giggles every time.

What he was waiting and hoping for finally came to his ears in a quiet giggle. "Daddy!" Kate's muffled voice protested through the towel. He grinned and lowered the towel away from her face. Her red hair was tousled on top of her head and she was mock glaring at him.

He smiled and kissed her forehead, wiping the scowl away. Kate wrapped the warm towel around her wet body tightly and scurried off into the corner to wait.

Whilst his eldest daughter still held onto her baby brother, Will washed Benjamin as quickly as he could. Then he wrapped the small boy in a towel and pressed him against his chest, glancing down at Jen. "You can get out by yourself right?"

Jen nodded. "Yes, daddy."

He grabbed the towel off of the towel rack and handed it to her. Jen stood up and wrapped the towel around herself, stepping out of the bathtub.

Will retreated out of the bathroom to re-diaper Ben and then brought the boy back into the bathroom. He sat him down on the floor, giving him a rubber ducky toy to occupy himself with while Will helped get his girls dressed.

After they were all dressed, Will knelt down in front of them seriously. "I want you both to go to your rooms and play for a little while okay?"

Kate's brown eyes glistened with tears and before she could get a word out Will placed a finger to her lips. "You're not in trouble. I just need to clean my self up and you can't bother Mommy."

"She is mad at us." Kate whimpered against his finger. "She's mad cuz we made a mess with the flour."

Will pushed a strand of her wet hair behind her ear. "She's not mad at you sweetie, she's just busy right now."

"You promise?" The meek voice of his eldest reached his ears and he turned to look at her. Jen was usually the voice of strength when it came to trouble in the family. Kate looked up to her and Jen protected her. They were as close as two sisters could be. But Jen, in that moment, looked just as vulnerable as Kate and Will felt his stomach drop. He hated seeing that look on his children's faces. He hated to think that they could be scared about anything that he or Emma would do.

"I promise." He tapped her nose with his fingertip. He turned to lift Benjamin off the floor and stood up, holding his hand out towards his daughters. Jen held onto his wrist and Kate held onto his pointer finger and he led them out of the bathroom and towards their bedroom.

Jen and Kate both crawled onto Jen's pink and purple bed and cuddled up together quietly. He set Ben down on the carpet, bring over a few toys for him to play with. Ben happily picked up one of Jen's old stuffed animals and began swinging it through the air.

Will found amusement in the antics of his one year old. He didn't remember Jen or Kate being that enthusiastic. He glanced over towards Jen and Kate who were just watching their baby brother.

"You girls don't want to play?" He asked.

Both girls shook their heads and cuddled more into each other. He let out another sigh and he nodded. He knew the girls wouldn't be their playful selves until he and Emma made up.

"Alright, can you keep an eye on Benji for me?"

Both girls nodded and kept their eyes on Ben. Will placed his hand softly on top of Ben's head for a moment, glanced at his girls and then walked out of the bedroom, heading towards his own.

After he took a shower and cleaned up the bathroom, making it absolutely spotless so it looked like it hadn't been used in days, he went over to check on his children.

Ben had crawled across the room and was slapping his hands lightly against the toy chest. He turned his head to look at Will and squealed happily, increasing his hitting against the toy chest.

"What are you doing you silly?" He asked, scooping up the boy into his arms. Ben squealed again and kicked his legs happily, continuing his slapping game against Will's chest.

Over on the bed, Jen and Kate were still huddled up to each other, eying their father with blank expressions. He gave them a small smile, however the girls did not return it.

Ben suddenly yawned in his arms and rested his little head on Will's shoulders, his kicking and slapping ceasing.

He dropped a light kiss to his head and went to put him down in the nursery. Within minutes Ben was fast asleep. Will smiled adoringly down at his son, watching him sleep for a good five minutes.

He then braved a trip downstairs and peeked into the kitchen. The kitchen was completely free of all flour and the counters, cabinets and the table were shining in cleanliness. Emma was on the floor, scrubbing the tiles, her breathing erratic.

He contemplated calling out to her and offering help but he knew he'd only make it worse. Quietly, he made his way over to the living room, taking a spare pillow out of the hall closet and bringing it over to the couch. He wanted to give Emma her space and being in bed with a mad Emma was just as bas as not being in bed with her at all. So he opted for the not at all and made his makeshift bed on the couch. He laid longwise, looking at the ceiling, not daring to turn on the television for fear of angering Emma further.

After about a half an hour he heard Emma's foot steps in the hall and he sat up slowly. Emma was walking towards the hall closet and she put away all of her cleaning supplies and he couldn't help but frown at how worn down she looked.

Emma turned around to head back to the kitchen but paused at seeing Will on the couch. She seemed a little bit surprised to see him there and her eyes wandered over the bed he'd made for himself on the couch. Then her eyes narrowed and she huffed, walking away from him and disappearing out of his eye sight.

He faintly could hear the shower running upstairs and then the faint talking of her voice mixed with smaller voices. It calmed him to know that Emma was talking with their daughters and that they'd possibly feel better knowing that she wasn't mad at them.

Will heard the water running and knew Emma was helping the girls get ready for bed. It was only after he heard the door to the nursery, the girls room and finally their bedroom, close that he dared to turn on the television.

He knew that if he didn't, his mind would be racing and he would never be able to get a good nights rest. After about an hour of watching the news (which he didn't particularly find interesting but watched it because he missed his wife) he shut the TV off and dimmed the lights, flipping over to face the inside of the couch.

He was just beginning to doze off when he heard a quiet voice. "Will?"

Will blinked his eyes open and listened for the sound. Sure enough, seconds later it came again, slightly louder this time, "Will?"

He sat up, squinting his eyes and in the dim light he could make out the silhouette of Emma.

"Em?" He called into the darkness.

"Yeah." She mumbled in response and he watched her dark figure move into the room, flicking on the lights.

As her face clearly came into his view, he noticed how exhausted she looked and wondered why she was up and not asleep. He didn't say anything but his question spoke clear on his face.

She bowed her head, her hands twisting in front of her periwinkle nightgown. His favorite one. She slowly walked over to the couch and Will sat up all the way, moving his legs so she could sit down.

They both sat in silence for a long while, Emma looking down at the ground and Will staring at her in wonder.

Finally Emma looked up and glanced hesitantly at Will, "Um...I just...wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" He questioned. "Em, you have nothing to apologize for."

"No, I do." She nodded. "I...totally over reacted about the kitchen."

"Emma you had every right to react the way you did." Will replied, inching his way over towards her.

"No," She shook her head in protest, meeting his eyes, "You were right Will."

"Right about what?" He shook his head in confusion.

She let out a breath. "Right that it was just a little mess. The kitchen wasn't destroyed, it wasn't a disaster. I just...completely over reacted about it and I don't know why."

Will, now sitting only inches away from her, slipped his hand into hers. "Em, I know why."

Emma raised an eyebrow in question and he elaborated. "Because you weren't ready for it. You were right Emma, you just went through a year of therapy to get over your postpartum depression. I should have been more thoughtful when agreeing to let the girls bake cookies. I should have known that letting them do what they want with the flour would upset you."

"And I shouldn't have let it upset me." Emma countered.

"It's perfectly normal that it did Em."

"Normal?" She squeaked. "It's not normal, Will ,to almost have a heart attack at seeing the kitchen like that. To get mad at you for something like having a little fun with our daughters.

"It's normal for _you, _Emma." He corrected, giving her hand a squeeze.

Emma sighed heavily and shook her head. "I don't want it to be Will. I want to be a normal human being. One who doesn't spend hours cleaning a little mess in the kitchen."

"It was more than just a little mess." Will admitted sheepishly.

Emma shook her head. "But it was just flour. It's a perfectly clean substance its not like it was mud or anything that would stain." Her eyes met his eyes again and she lifted a hand to the side of his face. "And you, _you _were so unbelievably patient with me. I know what its like to live with me. I know how upset I made my parents and siblings growing up. I know that my roommates in college couldn't stand me because of it but you...you just stand there and take my crap. I got angry at you before because I could tell you were getting frustrated with me but that was incredibly wrong of me. I frustrate everybody with my stupid cleaning habits..."

Will opened his mouth to protest but Emma held up a finger, "Out of everybody who has had to live me for more than a year you are the most cooperative, the most patient. Whenever I overreact like that you could lose your temper, you could yell at me like I yell at you, you could glare at me like I glare at you but you don't. I am so grateful for that Will and I feel so bad," She started to whimper, "Every time I lose my cool with you because you never lose your cool with me and I really deserve it sometimes. You're amazing, Will."

"I don't like fighting with you Em," he finally spoke, "Whenever we come out of an argument I feel so bad about myself."

"You shouldn't Will, most of them are my fault." She motioned towards the kitchen. "Like tonight's."

He shook his head. "No Em, I was just at fault as you were. I never should have allowed the mess to become that big. I never should have let the mess happen at all. I love you, Emma, so much and I'm willing to do anything to make you happy. I've lived with you for over ten years now, cleaning has become a daily part of my life. I will gladly go out of my way to clean up something or not make a mess of something because I know it'll make you happy. You're my wife Emma and you deserve to be comfortable in your own home and with your family."

A small smile tugged at Emma's lips as she looked adoringly into Will's eyes. "Why are you so good to me?"

"Because I love you." He replied simply and kissed her forehead. "Because you're my wife." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Because you're the most wonderful, amazing and beautiful woman I have ever known." He captured her lips in a kiss that she eagerly returned.

She trailed her fingers down his neck to come to rest on his chest. Slipping her other hand onto his chest, she pushed him onto his back, still locked in a deep kiss. Her hands found their way into his curls as his hands gripped her waist, pulling her flat on top of him. She let out a little squeak into his mouth but then smirked and pushed herself deeper into the kiss.

A low moan escaped Will's throat and she giggled, pecking his lips quickly once more and then sat up, straddling his waist. His eyelids fluttered open revealing his warm and inviting hazel eyes. She was amazed that after nearly ten years of marriage she would still swoon whenever he gave her that look. "Will Schuester..." She mused tracing his scruffy jaw line, "...why are you so damn irresistible?"

Will smirked up at her and winked. "I could ask you the same thing, Mrs. Schuester."

Always the same, Emma's cheeks flushed. Then she raised an eyebrow seductively, "What do you say we continue this in our bedroom?"

Will's eyebrows shot up and Emma grinned coyly. Will smirked and he his grip tightened around her waist. In one fluid motion, he launched himself up off the couch, slipping one arm under her legs and one arm around her back, she squealed as she landed bridal style in his arms. He grinned down at her and she buried her face into his shoulder as he hastily made his way out of the living room, switching the light off.

In the darkness of the Schuester household, Emma's light hearted giggles slowly disappeared, fading just like all memories of their quarrel.

* * *

_**A/N: I hoped you liked it! I don't think I'm very good at writing fights because I don't like when people fight. It makes me sad. So I hope I did a good job with it. Next chapter, we have some special guests! Anyone have any guesses? The first one to guess it right will get a special surprise!**_


	11. Chapter 10

A shrill scream broke through the silence, followed only moments later by manic laughter and then two more screams. The pounding of feet could be heard throughout the whole house and it shook the averaged sized home.

"I'm going to get you." A male voice growled and more screams erupted, followed again by pounding footsteps.

A five year old boy with sandy coloured curly hair stumbled down the steps followed quickly be a slightly taller red-headed girl. A mock roar drifted from the hallway upstairs and the girl screamed again, catching up to her brother.

Forty six year old Will jumped onto the top step from the hallway, a navy blue towel tied around his neck like a cloak. He grinned mischievously and took the stairs two by two, jumping the rest of the way down to land on the floor with a thud.

His children screamed again from the hallway and Kate's red hair swished into the living room. He smirked and pushed himself into a crouch, slowly walking down the hallway. "Come out, come out where ever you are." He lowered his voice to a raspy call and heard the giggling from the hallway.

"You'll never escape from the Schuemonster." He warned as he approached the living room. He purposefully turned away from the living room to look in the hall closet. He pulled the door open with a growl and then groaned at the empty space. More giggles erupted from the living room and he whirled around quickly, earning a gasp.

He grinned and crept towards the entrance to the living room and was about to turn in when he was met with a blockade. A bright pink blockade. He lifted his head slowly and we met with Emma's half bemused expression, his two youngest hiding behind their mother. Will gasped and then straightened up, "My fair maiden!" He exclaimed in his normal voice. "You have turned this beast into a prince again! I am eternally gratefully," He bowed to her and then rose up again. "Your reward shall be a kiss."

Before she could say a word, Will grabbed her from around the waist, bringing her to him and pressing his lips to hers. Behind them he could hear the giggles from Kate and Ben.

After a rather brief kiss, Will pulled away, holding Emma to him with one arm and pumping his other fist in the air. "The beast has been defeated! Let us rejoice!"

Kate and Ben squealed, clapped and started to jump and down, laughing. Will grinned and kissed the top of Emma's head and she rested her hand on his chest with a grin, her body shaking in quiet laughter.

"You guys are so lame." The voice of their eldest daughter caught Will and Emma's attention and they tuned to see Jen standing in the doorway, one hand on her hips. At eleven years old she still remained as innocent and sweet as a rose but she was also starting to grow more mature. They knew that out of all their children, Jen would probably be the least trouble. She smiled at them with an amused expression.

"Too old for make believe fairy tales, Jen?" Will asked with a chuckle as she walked into the room.

"Too old to be chased by my Dad in a towel, yeah." She laughed, tugging slightly at the towel.

"You're never too old for fairy tales, Jen." Emma remarked, smiling at her daughter and then glanced lovingly up at Will. "I was in my thirties when I met my prince charming."

Jen didn't make a comment about that, instead she only smiled brightly. She loved the way her parents acted, like they were so in love. They didn't need to act though. She knew that her parents loved each other like no one could possibly imagine. They were a real life fairy tale, meeting the one you were destined to be with but not after going through hardships, facing beasts, and fire-breathing dragons, some witches, and of course, never forgetting, the singing animals, they finally got their happily ever after. She was only eleven but she knew about love, she enjoyed watching romantic comedies with her mother, and she hoped to find a boy that would love her as much as her father loved her mother.

With an eskimo kiss, Will and Emma smiled at each other. Jen had to clear her throat to bring her parents out of their moment and the pair snapped out of it, looking at their children.

"I didn't mean to cut your fun short but Will, we spent all morning cleaning, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mess it all up." Emma scolded lightly.

Will smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, dear."

Emma rolled her eyes playfully and gave him a shove. She took a few steps towards her children and leaned down to meet Kate and Ben's level.

"Do you know why were cleaning the house this morning?" Emma asked.

"Cuz you like things to be clean." Kate replied almost instantaneously and Ben nodded in agreement with his sister.

Emma smiled and chuckled softly, "Well yes, that's true but that's not why we were cleaning."

"It wasn't?" Kate questioned, an adorable look of confusion crossing her pretty features

"Nope." Emma shook her head. "We were cleaning because we're going to have some special guests for dinner tonight."

"Really?" Kate's face lit up.

"We are?" Jen's interested voice piped up and Emma nodded towards her eldest.

"Who?" Jen continued, a smile beginning to form on her face.

"Gamma and Gampa?" Ben offered.

Emma shook her head. "No, its not grandma and grandpa."

"Who is it Mommy?" Kate pressed.

"Rachel Berry," She glanced at Jen who's eyes lit up and a small gasp passed her lips, "and Finn Hudson. You remember them, don't you?" She glanced between her daughters.

"Yes!" Jen exclaimed. "Of course!"

"Frankenstein!" Kate cried, bouncing up and down, clapping her hands together and laughing.

Emma shot Kate a stern look but Will countered her disciplinary action by sniggering in the background. Kate giggled along with her father until Emma finally gave in and let out a small laugh.

Ben's eyes flitted around the room to each person in the room with a clueless, innocent look on his face. "I remember too Mommy!"

"No you don't." Kate told him, giving him a look.

"I do too!" Ben huffed with a scowl.

Emma gave her daughter a warning look and then reached out to place her hand on top of Ben's curly head comfortingly, "You were just a baby last time they were here Benji, you're too young to remember them."

"Oh." Ben said simply and Emma smiled, kissing his forehead and then rose to her feet.

"What time are they coming Mom?" Jen asked excitedly.

"They'll be here at five thirty." Emma answered and Jen quickly turned to glance at the living room clock. Her face dropped and she sighed, "That's five and a half hours away."

"Well there is still work to be done. I'm sure due to your little game your rooms aren't totally cleaned, am I right?" Emma cocked an eyebrow.

The three Schuester children glanced at each other and shrugged sheepishly. Emma smiled softly and started to wave them out of the room.

"Go on, go clean your rooms. I'll be up in an hour to check on you alright?"

They all mumbled a response as they trudged out of the room and up the stairs. Even with Emma as a mother, the kids still did not like to clean their rooms.

Will chuckled and moved towards his wife but she tutted and pressed a hand to his chest. "You too mister. Go clean up the mess you made with the towels."

"How do you know I made a mess?" Will countered.

"Because..." She walked her fingers up his chest with a smirk, fingering the towel tied around his neck. "This towel is navy blue. The dark towels are on the bottom of the light towels and since you were in such a rush to play 'Schuemonster' with our children you grabbed this one from the bottom, leaving the other ones to fall on the floor in a mess."

He stared at her blankly for a moment or two while she continued to smirk at him. His shoulders slumped and he backed out of the room, grumbling under his breath. Emma giggled to herself, amazed at how even though her husband was nearing fifty years old he still acted as childish as their five year old. She loved him even more for it though. From the moment she met Will Schuester, the way he acted with his students, she knew he'd be a wonderful father. The last thing she ever expected all those years ago on her first day at McKinley was to be the mother to his children.

Emma grinned to herself and then moved to clean up what _all _of her children had made out of order.

* * *

Five thirty on the dot, the door bell rang and there were squeals throughout the house. "They're here!" Jen cried, flying down the stairs with Kate and Ben closely behind her.

Will was already halfway to the door when his children came running down the stairs. Emma quickly stopped them before they hurt themselves and let Will answer the door.

As soon as the door opened, before Will could get a word out, a ball of energy came crashing into him throwing her arms around his neck and crying out, "Mr. Schuester!"

Will stumbled back from the force and laughed as he wrapped his arms around his former student. "Well hello to you too Rachel."

Rachel let go of his neck and grinned brightly at him. Even at thirty three years of age she possessed all the spunk she was known for at fifteen.

"Rach, you look great!" Will admired her and she beamed proudly.

"Thank you," she laughed, "You don't look so shabby yourself Mr. Schue."

He smirked and shook his head. "Rach, its been fifteen years since you've graduated. You can call me Will."

"Nah, you'll always be Mr. Schue." Another familiar voice piped in before Rachel could respond. The tall and as handsome and dorky as ever Finn Hudson appeared in the doorway with his trademark grin on his face.

Will smiled at seeing Finn. Out of all the students he had ever taught, Finn was the one he had connected with the most. He had told Finn a million times how much he saw himself in the younger boy. To this day he still held true to that statement. Will didn't like to pick favorites, but without a doubt, (and he'd never tell anyone this) Rachel and Finn were his favorite students.

Finn's face brightened and he stepped in, by passing Rachel and the two men hugged, slapping each other on the back and laughing. "Good to see you Finn." Will said after pulling out of the hug.

"You too Mr. Schue."

Will chuckled. "You two are never going to call me by my first name are you?"

Rachel shook her head, still grinning. "It's too weird." It was then that her eyes drifted past Will and to the rest of the Schuester family.

They were all grinning at them, even little Ben who had no idea who they were. Rachel gasped and moved past Will, rushing towards Emma who welcomed her with open arms.

"Wow, Mrs. Schue, you look amazing!" Rachel cried as she examined the older woman. "You look like you haven't aged a day since we left high school."

"Oh," Emma blushed, "Well thank you Rachel, that means alot. You look very well yourself."

"Well beauty isn't easy to achieve but it is something you must keep up with in show business." Rachel replied and behind her Finn rolled his eyes.

He walked over to them, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder and slipping in between Rachel and Emma. Finn took Emma into a hug and she couldn't help but feel tiny next to the six foot three male.

"Rachel is right Mrs. Schue, you look amazing." Finn agreed and Emma blushed again.

"Thank you Finn."

Finn smiled in response and his face became perplexed when Rachel gasped. He followed her line of sight to the three Schuester children standing around their mother.

"Oh my god." Rachel covered her mouth slightly, staring directly at Jen. "This can't be little Jena Schuester."

Jen grinned and nodded. "It's me, Rachel."

"You've gotten so big!" She cried and pulled her into a hug, combing her red hair with her fingers.

"I'm eleven now." Jen said into Rachel's shoulder. Rachel gasped and pulled away, holding her by the shoulders.

"You are not."

Jen giggled and nodded. "I am."

"That makes me really old." Rachel frowned and Jen laughed again, launching herself back into Rachel's arms. "I missed you Rachel!"

Rachel smiled again and tightened her hold around her. "I missed you too, Jen."

"Frankenstein!" Kate cried out suddenly and Finn looked down at her. Emma gasped softly and sent a stern look down to her daughter. "Kate!" She hissed.

"No it's alright Mrs. Schue." Finn laughed and knelt down, opening his arms, allowing Kate to run into them. Kate squealed as Finn lifted her into the air, Finn's large body easily carrying the weight of the tiny eight year old.

Will joined the group, smiling at the scene before him.

* * *

The group of seven were seated around the dining room table, laughing and telling stories, and reliving memories from "the good old days in glee club".

"How is glee club?" Rachel asked. "Are you still the director?"

"Yes." Will nodded. "I actually have a co-director now, a younger teacher, gifted in music. She's a real help especially now that I'm older and can't bust a move like I used to."

Both Rachel and Finn grinned at his comment and he laughed at his own joke. "It is a lot bigger now. You guys helped pave the way for glee club and even thought its not as popular as it was when I was in high school, the glee kids no longer get slushied. No one gets slushied anymore. That ritual seemed to have died out."

"Good," Rachel nodded, "That was not the highlight of my high school career."

"Try being hit with twelve of them at the same time." Will remarked with a smirk.

"Hey!" Rachel raised her left hand to point at him. "You asked for it Mr. Schue!"

Will laughed and held up his hands. "I did, I did."

"Rachel..." Emma mused, her eyes focused on Rachel's left hand. "Is that what I think it is?" She motioned towards a diamond ring on Rachel's left ring finger.

Rachel looked down at her hand, grinned, looked up at Finn and then nodded. "If you think it is an engagement ring then yes."

The girls all gasped and Will's eyes widened. Finn smiled brightly and slipped his arm around Rachel, giving his former teachers a nod to confirm it.

A matching grin spread across Will and Emma's faces and surprisingly, Emma was the first one out of her chair and she ran over to Rachel, embracing her tightly.

Rachel laughed in Emma's arms and once Emma smiled down at her. "This is wonderful! Oh Rachel!" She gushed and then moved past her to kiss Finn on the cheek. He laughed and tightened one arm around her middle in a quick hug. "Thanks Mrs. Schue."

Each Schuester took their turn hugging the newly engaged couple, even Ben who had no idea why the rest of his family was so excited.

"I do have a question," Will spoke up after everyone settled down, "Why did you two wait until now to get engaged?"

Rachel and Finn shared a glance and Rachel sighed. "It's along story, Mr. Schue."

Will shrugged, "I'm all ears."

Rachel licked her lips, took a breath and then began her story. "Well, Finn and I dated for five years after we graduated. As you know, after college we both headed to New York so I could pursue my career on broadway. It has been very successful, my career but in my third show, I was cast as the lead..." She paused and Finn gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. She smiled softly and continued, "...beside Jesse."

Will racked his brain, wondering why that name sounded so familiar to him. He thought back to his first year of glee club and remembered Jesse St. James, the male lead of Vocal Adrenaline and how he and Rachel dated for a few months.

"Jesse St. James?" Will questioned and Rachel nodded.

"Jesse St. James." She rolled her eyes. "I decided to be the grown up and put our fling of the past behind us. He had grown up too, somewhat. He was still an egotistical jerk but he wasn't as bad of an egotistical jerk. Anyway, our director thought it would be a good idea if his two leads got to know each other off stage to build chemistry on stage. I reluctantly agreed but it came with a price. Finn didn't approve of my outings with Jesse and we got into a huge fight one day and we didn't talk to each other for five years. Neither of us saw anybody else during the five years without each other," She looked to Finn for confirmation and he nodded, "and when we ran into each other, we realized how much we missed each other and after a long talk we finally rekindled our relationship. For the last five years we've been closer than ever and then two weeks ago Finn proposed." She grinned brightly, her eyes drifting upwards in a memory.

Rachel sighed dreamily and recalled the event, "Finn rented out a small theater for the day and brought me in. It was pitch black and I had no idea what I was doing there, I thought maybe there was a director who was interested in me. Then Finn turned the lights on and the whole stage was decorated in bright, different colored lights. It was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. He led me to the audience and sat me down in the front row. Then he got up on the stage and sang for me," She rested back against Finn's shoulder, "and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said nothing but yes."

Finn laughed, "I think all of Manhattan knew you said yes."

Rachel grinned proud of her excitement. "I couldn't help it. Quite honestly Finn, I've been waiting for the day you would ask me to marry you since your first day in glee club."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Rachel shrugged, unashamed. "I was a little insane back then."

"A little?" Will remarked with a smirk.

"Back then?" Finn added.

Rachel shot the men in the room dirty looks. "And you two are supposed to be my biggest fans."

Will and Finn laughed, Finn squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

"We're just kidding, Rach." Will smiled and Rachel huffed.

"Well, if you're truly sorry I suppose I can forgive you." She said in mock seriousness and then smiled to show she was kidding.

Will chuckled and Emma changed the subject with, "Did you two set a date for the wedding?"

Rachel smiled brightly and looked across the table to lock eyes with Will. "August 16th of next year."

Will stared at her, puzzled until the date clicked in his brain. "August 16th? Wasn't that the date we won our first National championship?"

"Bingo." Finn nodded with a smile.

"We figured that it was a special day for us," Rachel went onto explain, "because glee is what brought us together in the first place. We're also planning to have the wedding here in Lima. It's not very glamorous I know but we love it here and it'd be a perfect spot for our wedding."

"That is so sweet." Emma commented with a warm smile.

Rachel giggled and pressed a kiss to Finn's cheek, causing him to break out in a bright smile.

"While we're on the subject," Finn started, looking towards Will, "I wanted to ask you something Mr. Schue."

Will raised his eyebrows. "Shoot."

"I was just wondering if you'd like to be my best man."

Will's eyes widened as did Emma's as she turned to look at Will to gauge his reaction. Finn went on, "I could ask Kurt because he's been my brother for almost fifteen years now or I could ask Burt since he technically is my father now but I'm not because even with Burt you're still the only father I've really had. Out of anyone in my life, you're the one person I turned to when I had a problem which in my high school days was quite often. You're the person who I looked up to, my role model who I told myself I had to grow up to be like. So, _Will,_ I'd love for you to be my best man."

Emma's hand had moved to cover her mouth as she stared at her husband who had gone misty eyed. Will smiled and swallowed the lump in his throat, "Finn, I'd be honored."

Finn grinned and reached over the table to shake hands with Will. Will placed his hand in Finn's hand gripped it with both hands in a fatherly handshake.

"Mrs. Schuester," Rachel called catching Emma's attention, "Unfortunately, I have already chosen my maid of honor, she has been my best friend since I started college but I would love for you to be in my bridal party."

A gasp passed Emma's lips and her hand flew to her heart, a warm smile appearing on her face. "Oh Rachel, that's so sweet. Thank you."

"What about me?" Jen's voice piped up. "I'd like to be in your wedding, too."

"Me too!" Kate exclaimed.

Rachel smiled at them, "You two, since you are my two favorite children in the world, are both going to be my flower girls."

Jen and Kate grinned, looked at each other and then back to Rachel. "Thank you Rachel!" They cried in unison.

"Rachel, you don't have to do that." Emma's quiet voice offered.

Rachel smiled at the elder woman. "Nonsense, Mrs. Schuester. Neither Finn or I have younger brothers or sisters. All my cousins are teenagers by now and your family is practically our family. You all deserve to be a part of our special day and I wouldn't have it any other way."

The two eldest Schuesters smiled at her tearfully while their daughters continued to smile happily.

* * *

The soon-to-be Hudsons stayed for much longer than they intended to. At around nine thirty, Ben had fallen asleep on Emma's lap while they were seated around the living room and Kate kept yawning, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Emma excused herself to put her two youngest to bed and once they were asleep, she returned the group downstairs. Jen was seated in between Finn and Rachel, linked arms with the two.

"Mom?" Jen looked up towards her mother when she walked into the room.

"Yes?" Emma settled back into Will's side and he slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Rachel said that I could spend next weekend with them if it was alright with you. Can I go please?" Her face lit up in hopeful excitement.

Emma cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Rachel. Rachel smiled, "We're staying until next monday. During the week we're going to visit our parents but the weekend is free so I figured I could spend a little girl time with Jen. We could drive down to Columbus and spend the day shopping, seeing the sights and then she'll sleep over at my dads' house where Finn and I will be staying."

Emma bit her lip and turned to look at Will. He shrugged, "I said it was okay, as long as it was alright with you."

"Your fathers are alright with this?" Emma asked turning back to Rachel.

Rachel grinned and nodded. "We have a guest bedroom that she can sleep in. She's a little angel, she won't be a bother to them."

"Please Mom!" Jen pleaded, her lips pouting out in a pout that closely resembled her father's.

Emma sighed, not completely comfortable with the idea of her daughter going off into the city without her or Will but she did trust Rachel. "Alright Jen, you can go."

Jen grinned and leaped off the couch to hug her mother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Emma laughed and patted her back. "You're welcome sweetie."

Jen squealed and skipped back over to take her spot between Rachel and Finn. Rachel and Jen embraced quickly in a happy hug while Finn and Will watched the girls' with happy smiles.

They stayed for another half an hour after that until Rachel and Finn noticed that Will and Emma were starting to grow weary. Emma's head had drifted onto Will's shoulder, her eyes fluttering opening and closing lazily while Will nodded along lazily to Rachel's incessant talking.

After Finn had nudged Rachel, urging her to look at the older couple, Rachel finally noticed that they weren't as alert as before. It was then that they decided to go.

Will and Emma were more awake as they stood up and accompanied the younger couple to the door. With hugs and kisses and an agreement that Rachel would be back on Friday morning to pick Jen up for their weekend of adventures.

They both continued to wave out the door until Finn's car drove out of view. Will closed and locked the front door and Emma melted into his chest.

"I forgot how verbose she could be." She murmured into his chest.

His chest vibrated in laughter and he slipped his arms around her, kissing her head softly. "Classic Rachel. Though Finn has seemed to calm her down somewhat."

"It made me tired just listening to her." She sighed.

"It was great to see them again though." Will added and Emma lifted her head to catch his eyes.

"It was." Emma agreed with a smile. "I am so glad to hear that it worked out for them. Not many high school relationships make it past high school."

"And if they do...sometimes they're complete failures." Will remarked wistfully.

"That seemed like such a lifetime ago.." Emma whispered. "Did you ever think that we'd be where we are today?"

"Honestly? Yes." He smiled, kissing the tip of her nose. "I thought about it. At the time I thought it wasn't even a possibility but that didn't mean I didn't think about it."

Emma smiled sheepishly as she added, "I thought about it too. More often than I should have. Whenever I saw that gold band on your finger I imagined that the other one belonged to me. I imagined what it'd be like to come home to you every day."

"And did the real thing live up to your imagination?" He asked with a smirk.

Emma grinned, sliding her arms around his neck. "It was better than I ever could have imagined it to be."

Will chuckled and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. "I love you." He whispered against her lips.

Emma smiled into his lips, lifting herself onto her toes to push herself further closer to him.

Both of them failed to notice their eldest daughter, leaning against the door frame, watching them with a happy smile.


	12. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates guys! I have too many thoughts going on in my head. I was debating this chapter for a long time I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go with it but I finally decided...sorry if its too cliche. I hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

Emma leaned against the door frame to the kitchen clad in a white nightgown. She crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat to catch her husband's attention.

Will jumped in his seat, startled by the sudden noise and turned to Emma with a deer in the headlights look. She cocked an eyebrow at him and his mouth twisted up in a sheepish grin.

She sighed as she walked towards the table. "Will what are you doing?"

He gave her a clueless look. "I'm getting a little snack before bedtime Em."

Her eyebrows shot up and she walked a few steps more towards him. "Will, honey, there's no food on the table."

Will glanced down at the empty table and bit his lip. He sighed heavily and his shoulders visibly slumped as he rested one arm against the table. "Okay, you caught me."

"Will..." She dragged out his name in sing song and went to stand behind him slipping her arms around his neck and resting her head on top of his curls. "Honey, come to bed."

"I can't." Will muttered in response and rested his chin in his palm. Emma lifted her head and started to comb her fingers through his hair. "Will..." She whined quietly and he groaned lightly from the back of his throat. "Please..." She whispered into his ear.

Will's darkened eyes turned to lock onto hers. "You still got it woman." He growled lowly and she chuckled gripping onto his shoulder.

"Come on Will." She started for the doorway but at the failure to hear any noise turned around to face Will. He still sat where she had left him and stared at her with puppy dog eyes.

Emma sighed heavily and walked back over to him and scooted onto his lap, wrapping her arms lightly around his neck. "Will, you can't stay down here all night."

"I'll stay down here as long as I need to." Will answered, glancing at the doorway.

She lifted a hand to his face and rubbed her palm against his stubble. "She won't be happy with this Will."

Will looked away from the doorway and settled his eyes on his wife. She offered him a small smile. "She won't Will and you know it."

Will frowned and quietly leaned his head forward to rest on Emma's shoulder. "Why is this so hard?" He mumbled against the clothing of her nightgown.

Emma slipped her arms around him and rested her chin on top of his curls. She ran her fingernails up and down his back like she often did when her children needed comforting.

"Because you love her." Emma whispered into his hair. "She's your daughter Will. Your first born and your little girl but she's growing up and we need to let her do that. It's only her first date Will and she's fifteen its not like she's getting married."

Will groaned loudly against her. "Don't mention the 'M' word." He lifted his head to see Emma smiling sympathetically down at him. "How are you so calm about this?" He shook his head in utter confusion.

"Because I want this for her." Emma answered. "Will, when I was her age I wouldn't go near a boy. There were a few very rare occasions when I had a small crush on a boy but my condition would keep me far away from them. No boys liked me either except for one boy who I tried to date but on the first date he brushed against my hand and I completely flipped out. He never spoke to me again after that. Will I am so incredibly relieved that she is normal. That she can be around a boy without crying, that boys actually like her and want to go out with her."

Will sighed heavily. "But boys are so immature at her age, we both know that Em, we work with fifteen year old boys every day."

"Yes." Emma agreed with a small nod. "However, not all fifteen year old boys are jerks. Ian is a very nice boy Will, I see him every so often, he's very sweet, gets good grades, and he's on the baseball team. You met him when he picked her up Will, you saw how sweet he was."

"He's also very attractive...and a jock."

Emma gave him a look. "So..a man can't be attractive, well-fit and a nice guy?" Emma raised her eyebrow. "Because it seems to me I have one of those men right in front of me."

Will sighed but cracked a small smile. "Yes but Emma, I'm fifty years old. That's a big age difference."

"I met you when you were in your late twenties Will, we married when we were in our thirties and I have heard plenty of stories from your parents about how you were always the gentlemen when you were a teenager. You have been the same way all your life Will and perhaps Ian will be too." She pressed a light kiss to his forehead and ran her fingers through his curls. "Besides, even if he wasn't we can't keep her sheltered her entire life."

"I'm her father Emma." Will's brow furrowed in a serious expression. "It's my job to protect her from harm."

"We have to raise her so she can live on her own, so she can protect herself." Emma responded. "We can't do that if you try to keep her your baby girl forever."

Will frowned heavily and turned his gaze to the ground. "She grew up too fast." Will chocked out in a near whisper.

Emma's forehead came to rest on Will's and she continued to rub his back gently. "I know." Emma whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

"I'm not ready for this Emma." Will admitted in a weak voice after a few moments of silence. "I can't give her up."

"You're not going to give her up Will." Emma strived to reassure her husband. "You just have to share her now."

"I'm not too fond of sharing my baby girl with immature, sex-craving teenagers." Will grumbled and narrowed his eyes slightly. "What if he does something to her Emma? What if he pushes her beyond her comfort zone?"

"I think that we raised her with a lot of sense." Emma answered confidently. "You know our daughter Will, she's hesitant around people. She's not going to allow anyone to touch her in a way that she does not want to be touched."

Will shook his head slowly. "I'm still not very comfortable with this."

"No one parent is ever totally comfortable with their child growing up." Emma replied and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "I'm not either. I'm worried about her too, I don't want her to get her heart broken but that is all a part of life and if it does happen we have to be there to comfort her."

Will clenched his jaw tightly and shook his head. "This Ian character better not hurt her or I might be forced to do something that would cost me my job."

Emma slapped his back and gave him a look. "Will." She scolded and he sighed.

"I'm not going to let him get away with hurting my baby Emma." He replied glancing up to meet her eyes.

"He didn't do anything, Will. Jen is probably having a wonderful time with Ian." Emma gave him a small smile. "Don't go pulling out a shotgun just because you think that he might hurt her."

Will rolled his eyes. "I'm not that dramatic."

"Because you don't have a shotgun." She shot him a pointed look. "Will, you waiting down here for her is just as bad."

Will's hardened face softened as realization spread across his face. He groaned lowly and let out a breath through pursed lips. "How did this happen, Em? I never wanted to be that kind of father."

"You're used to being Prince Charming Will, swooping in and saving your damsel in distress. It's time for Jen to find her own Prince Charming and if she finds some bad apples along the way you need to let her live her own mistakes." Emma explained.

Will bit his lip in thought for a few moments, staring off at the wall across from the table. Emma played with the curls at the nape of his neck while she waited for him to process the information.

A small smile tugged at his lip and his eyes lifted to meet hers. "I should really start to pay you for this." He chuckled. "You really are an amazing advice giver."

Emma grinned down at him and shifted her body so she was straddling his waist. Her hands rested on the base of neck and she lifted one eyebrow. "Tell you what, since you are my husband, I'll let you pay me in _another_ way."

"Mmm I like the sound of that." Will smirked as Emma's lips came down onto his in a meaningful kiss.

Emma pulled away and slithered off of Will's lap, leaving him craving for more. Will stared at his wife from across the room and she gave him her best 'come hither' look.

The smirk grew on his face and he licked his lips. "Go upstairs. I'll be there in a minute."

Emma gave him a suspicious look but he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Alright." She agreed with a sigh. "But listen Schuester, if you're not up there in a minute I will come down to get you."

Will chuckled softly. "Is that a promise?"

Emma winked at him and then turned out of the room to head up to their bedroom. Will stared at the empty doorway until he heard Emma's footsteps disappear.

He rose from the chair, pushed it in and then went to get a glass of water. After he downed the glass and washed the glass he started for the doorway. He shut the light to kitchen, just leaving the hallway light on for when his daughter got home.

He reluctantly started for the staircase but just as he reached the stairwell he heard the front door opening. He furrowed his brow and backed away from the stairs, peeking around the corner to the front door.

His eldest daughter stood in the doorway, closing the door behind her and with her head bowed. He took a quick glance at the clock in the living room and realized that she was home an hour earlier than she told him.

He stepped into the hallway and observed Jen who failed to notice his presence. She walked slowly down the hallway, she didn't take off her coat or her shoes which Will knew that Jen knew that that was one of Emma's stricter rules that she always obeyed.

Will felt his heart sink at the sight of his obviously distraught daughter. Emma had managed to convince him, if only for a minute, that Jen would be okay on her date but all of that worry had come back and along with it, anger.

"Jen?" Will called out into the silence. Jen gasped and she visibly jumped, her head flew up and she placed her hand over her heart. "Dad," She whispered, "You scared me."

Will felt his heart breaking at the sight of her eyes obviously red rimmed and glossy. He took a few steps closer and Jen tensed and wiped at her eyes, averting her gaze from her father.

"What are you doing up?" She asked.

"I came to get a glass of water." He explained and hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "What are you doing home? Did someone drop you off? I didn't hear a car."

Jen bit her lip and she shook her head slowly. "No I-I um, I walked." She finished in a quiet voice.

Will's eyes widened. "You walked?" He cried and she flinched and then nodded quietly.

He turned his attention to the window where it had been dark outside for over two hours. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly wanted to find that kid and show him exactly why it was a bad idea to leave a fifteen year old girl alone to walk home in the dark.

He was pulled out of his angry thoughts by a small whimper. Will turned his gaze towards Jen who was still trying to avoid his eyes. His face softened and he tried to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry Daddy." She whimpered. Will frowned heavily and he quickly hurried over to her, taking the petite redhead into his arms.

Jen wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face into his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay baby, you have nothing to be sorry about."

"I should have called you or Mom for a ride." Jen mumbled into his shirt. "But I was just so-so embarrassed."

Without a word, Will slowly led her into the living room, never loosening his grip on her. He lowered both of them to the couch and Jen cuddled up to his chest.

"What happened Jen?" Will inquired as he continued to stroke her hair.

"I feel so stupid." She whispered and stared ahead at the stainless white carpet. "He never even liked me."

Will felt the anger growing in him but he beat back the protective father in him and remembered Emma's words, '_I don't want her to get her heart broken but that is all a part of life and if it does happen we have to be there to comfort her.'_

"Did he do anything inappropriate to you?" Will asked trying to keep his voice even.

Jen shook her head rapidly. "No, no, it was nothing like that it was just..." She sighed. "He used me Dad."

Her eyes watered and she let a few tears slip down her cheeks and land on Will's shirt. "He said that I was a nice girl but he didn't have any interest in me." She whimpered.

Will's heart rate picked up with every passing word and he wanted nothing more than to have a word with the boy who had broken the heart of his girl. His daughter was so much more than just "a nice girl" and she did not deserve to be treated in such a horrible way.

"He took me out to a movie and that was great." Jen's soft voice continued. "He was very sweet and gentlemanly he didn't try to hold my hand or anything but afterwards when we went to Breadsticks he kept getting distracted. I saw him looking at his ex-girlfriend who was sitting a few tables away from us. Not even a half an hour after we were there they started to argue with each other right in front of me and he said to her that I meant nothing to him, right in front of me Dad, and then they walked out hand in hand." She sniffled and pressed herself further into Will. "Everyone was staring at me Dad and I just wanted to get out of there that's why I didn't call you."

"Oh sweetie." Will whispered and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm so sorry you did not deserve that."

"I should have known." Jen muttered bitterly. "No boy would ever like me for me."

Will frowned and shifted so he could place his fingers under her chin and he tapped her chin to get her to look at him. "Hey, don't you talk like that, you understand? Any boy would be lucky to have you."

"I'm ignored in school Dad. My only friends are the ones I've had since Kindergarten. Ian was the first boy to ever express interest in me and he was just using me." Jen shook her head slowly and a few more tears escaped her eyes.

"Well then he's a jerk." Will snapped lightly. "This has nothing to do with you Jen, alright? It has all to do with him. He can't see what a beautiful, smart, wonderful young woman he just let go."

Jen shrugged, unconvinced and glanced down at her lap.

"Honey, look at me." Will prompted gently and Jen slowly turned her gaze upwards, a pitiful look on her pretty face.

"Ethan or whatever his name was does not deserve you. You don't want to waste your heart on guys like that. One day you are going to find a guy that will treat you right and who will love you for you are. It might be when you're fifteen, it might when you're thirty two but there is someone out there who is your perfect match. You'll think he'll be the perfect man in the world and he'll think you're the most wonderful woman in the world. You're going to be the light in somebody's life someday. You know how I know that?"

Jen shook her head quietly and Will pushed a strand of her hair behind her ears. When his eldest gave him that look, that vulnerable puppy dog look he couldn't help but notice how much she looked like her mother.

"Because you're one of the brightest lights in mine."

Jen's eyes glistened and slowly a smile spread on her lips. Her lips quivered for a few seconds and then she threw her arms around Will's neck. "I don't care what you or anybody else says, no one will ever be as perfect as you." She whispered into his ear.

Will smiled and pressed a gentle, loving kiss to the side of her face. "I love you baby girl."

Jen tightened her grip around his neck and whispered back, "I love you too Daddy."

Out of the corner of his eye Will saw a flash of red in the doorway and saw another pretty redhead sticking her head into the doorway. Her brown eyes widened at being caught and she disappeared behind the wall.

"Someone's waiting for you." Will whispered into Jen's ear and Jen pulled away from him, furrowing her brow.

He motioned towards the door and Jen looked over her shoulder and Kate peeked her head out again. Jen's face visibly brightened at seeing her there and she quickly turned back to Will. She leaned over to peck Will's cheek softly and embrace him once more. "Thank you Daddy." She whispered and then took off towards the doorway.

The two sisters embraced tightly in the doorway and then Kate took her older sister by the hand and she dragged her down the hallway. Will heard the patter of their feet up the stairs and then the closing of their door.

Will let out a breath, closed his eyes and rested back against the couch. He wasn't sure how long he was sitting there in the silence consumed by his thoughts before the seat next to him sunk.

He opened his eyes and turned his head meeting the sympathetic glance of his wife. He smiled a sad smile and sighed shifting so he could rest his head on her shoulder.

"See?" She prompted as she slipped an arm around him and rubbed her fingers along his arm. "You can handle it."

Will huffed quietly. "I want to rip his stupid head off."

Emma smiled weakly. "He isn't worth the effort Will."

Will pursed his lips. "Well how about I hold him down and you can spray him in the eyes with some lysol?"

Emma slapped his arm but laughed quietly. "Will!"

"Or you could put him in my spanish class next year and I'll fail him on purpose." Will offered.

"Or..." Emma laughed, "You could ignore it."

Will shook his head. "Not a chance. I can't just forget that some stupid kid broke my daughter's heart and made her walk home in the dark by herself."

He felt Emma shudder beneath him and he felt relieved that he was not the only one that was disturbed by that thought.

"He's just a stupid boy Will." Emma said after a moment. "He's not the first one there is and he won't be the last either. You already gave our daughter the advice that I would have given her and you should follow it yourself."

Will lifted his head to give her a confused look. "I'm married to my perfect match. I don't have to worry about that."

Emma smiled warmly and rested her palm on the side of her face. "Not what I meant. You told her not to waste her heart on guys like that, you shouldn't waste your heart on it either. Sitting here planning his demise is just the same as her crying over him. The sooner you forget about it, the sooner she will too. Let her know you're there for her always without dwelling on the past."

Will blinked in thought for a few moments and then he hastily leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss. Emma blinked in surprise for a second but then surrendered to his kiss.

As soon as he pulled away she smiled up at him, "What was that for?"

He smirked down at her. "Payment remember? And you worked overtime tonight so I think you should be paid double."

Before Emma could say anything Will tackled to the couch and slammed his lips down onto hers. Emma smiled into the kiss and brought her hands to rest on the back of his head and brought him down closer to him and deepened the kiss.

All worries, doubts, and murderous thoughts were gone for the night as the couple got lost in each other.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: I had so many plans for this story and they just sort of fell by the way side and I'm sorry about that! Maybe one day I'll get back to writing and if so, I'll delete this chapter and keep it going but I've had this chapter written since the beginning of the story and it is my perfect ending. **_

* * *

"William!" A shrill voice screamed through a house. "William Schuester! Get back here!"

A woman with long, wavy red hair stood in the center of her home with a scowl marring her pretty features.

A man with light brown hair an almost carbon copy of his father, laughed and walked up next to her. "Relax sis."

Her sharp brown eyes snapped to him and glared. "Your son is a terror Benjamin."

"He's eleven!" Ben protested. "Boys at his age are rambunctious."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't know because you have all girls." Ben went on.

"Actually," another red head poked her head into the room, "Ben your son is worse than most eleven year olds."

Ben threw his other older sister a look. "Oh come on!"

The first red head smirked in triumph. "See," she motioned her hand to the other red head. "Kate agrees with me!"

"He just has a lot of energy!"

"MOM!" A high pitched scream came from the second story of the house. Kate sighed heavily and walked out of the kitchen and towards the stairs to go tend to the call.

"Jen, you're just letting him get to you." Ben said to the older woman.

"Well Benjamin its hard not to." Jen responded, her voice thick with annoyance.

Ben sighed in frustration. "Why do you keep calling me Benjamin?"

"It's your name." She retorted.

"My name is Ben or Benji. You never call me Benjamin!"

"Well your son is driving me up a wall! My patience is running thin with that kid!" Jen cried running her hands through her hair.

"I think you're over reacting Jena, seriously, he's not that bad." Ben defended his son's honor just as Kate's voice screeched down the stairs, "Benjamin!"

Ben groaned at the name and dragged himself up the stairs with Jenalyn following him out of curiousity.

"What?" He snapped when he reached the top of the stairs and saw Kate holding young Will by his shirt.

"Your son locked my daughter in the bathroom!" Kate exclaimed. Ben raised his eyebrows and glanced at Will. Will smiled sheepishly up at his father and Ben shook his head, ignoring Jen's satisfied smirk.

"Give him to me." Ben motioned and Kate pushed the boy towards Ben. Ben took his arm and looked down at him sternly. "William I want you to apologize to your cousin and then you will go in Aunt Kate and Uncle Jeff's room and not come out until I say so alright?"

Will held back an eye roll and grumbled an "alright." Ben let go of his son's arm and as he passed the bathroom door he called out a 'sorry' and then ran into his aunt and uncle's room. From inside the bathroom they could all hear her response, "You little creep!"

Kate shot an annoyed look at her brother and Ben raised his shoulders in a shrug. "Kids, what're you going to do?"

Kate rolled her eyes, walked into the hall closet to find the key to the bathroom and then unlocked the door.

An annoyed sixteen year old girl walked out and shot a look towards her uncle. "Seriously Uncle Ben, you need to do something about that kid."

Ben threw his hands up in exasperation. "What is this scold Ben day?" He noticed his two older sisters plus his niece staring at him with annoyed expression and he sighed. "I know you're right Emmy, I'm sorry."

"I could have like died in there." Emmy told him as she passed him heading towards her room.

"You wouldn't have died!" Ben retorted, turning his body to face her.

Emmy didn't respond after that except with the closing of the door to her room. Ben rolled his eyes and turned back towards his sister, "Well your daughter isn't a walk in the park either."

"She's just annoyed Ben, anyone would be after dealing with that monster." Kate pointed over her shoulder to her bedroom.

"Will you quit trashing my son?" Ben asked narrowing his eyes. "I know he can be a little rowdy and wild at times but he's not that bad of a kid."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really!"

"Well he definitely doesn't take after his name sake. Nor do I think he deserves it. "Jen piped in, placing her hands on her hips. "Now Dad's name is going to marred by your son. Now instead of smiling whenever someone hears the name William Schuester they're going to want to run into a wall."

Ben shot an exasperated look at his eldest sister. "Oh now you're just being really over dramatic. Dad loved Will."

"Dad loved everybody and he wasn't going to despise his own grandson." Kate added.

Ben threw his hands up in the air and headed towards the stairs. "You're all crazy!" He stomped down the stairs and the two sisters exchanged glances.

"I think he's just as bad as his son sometimes." Kate said and Jen laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Oh yes that he is. Maybe we should put him in time out." The two red heads laughed again.

"So, are we ready to go?" Kate asked, getting serious after a moment.

Jen nodded, a solemn look crossing her face. Kate gave her a sad smile and walked past her towards her daughter's room and knocked. "Emmy? Honey, your aunt and uncle and I are going to your grandparents. Make sure Will doesn't get into any trouble!"

Kate waited, listening by the door to hear her daughter's response when the door flew open and Emmy was giving her mother an incredulous look. "What? Are you serious? Mom, you're going to leave me along with Killin' William."

Jen sniggered and then cleared her throat, trying to hide her amusement. She'd never admit it although her whole family probably knew that she was the first one to give her nephew that nickname and her niece loved to use it all the time.

Kate raised her eyebrows and fought back her own amusement. "Emmy, be nice. It will only be for a little while and Ben sent him into our room. If he gets out then just tell him to play some video games or something."

Emmy rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Fine. But if he touches any of my things I'm not going to be nice!" She snapped and then retreated back into her room.

Kate let out a breath and turned back to Jen. "Well that's that." She motioned her head towards the stairs. "Come on let's go."

The two sisters made their way downstairs and met Ben in the living room. Ben got up from the chair he was sitting in and the three siblings stared at each other for a good few minutes, their last quarrel forgotten.

"You ready?" Jen asked Ben in a quiet voice.

Ben nodded, slowly walking towards them. "It's going to be so weird." He commented.

"What is?" Kate asked.

"The house is probably going to be so dusty. Mom would have hated that." Ben explained.

Jen's lips curved up in small, sad smile. "We could clean it. Knowing Mom she probably has alot of dust wipes still in the closet."

"And knowing Dad he wouldn't have gotten rid of them." Kate added gently.

The house was quiet again as the trio once again stared at each other, reminscing.

"Well, come on." Ben spoke up with a sigh, grabbing his jacket that was slung over the couch. He walked in between his two sisters and wrapped an arm around each of them, walking towards the door.

They got into Ben's car that was parked outside Kate's house and drove the five minutes to their parent's house in silence.

Ben pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. Jen, who was in the passenger's seat and Kate who was in the rear, both pressed their heads against the glass of the windows and stared at their childhood home. Ben laid eyes on his sisters for a few moments and then finally turned his gaze to the house. The lawn was slightly over grown from not being mowed, all the porch furniture still remained on the porch, even the pillows on the swing, and the house was dark.

Soon they all got slowly out of the car and approached the house, almost nervously, like they were approaching a haunted house and not the house that they each spent the first eighteen years of their lives in.

Jen slowly climbed up the stairs to the porch and with two fingers, wiped the edge of the railing. She lifted her fingers into the air and the tips of her fingers were covered in black dust. She let out a soft chuckle and turned to her siblings with the two fingers in the air. "Mom would have a fit."

A small smile tugged at their lips and Kate joked, "She'd probably make you wash your hands for an hour." But then her smile faded and her brow furrowed in despair. She bit her lip, shaking her head and then pushed past her older sister and onto the porch.

Kate lifted the welcome mat near the door, lifted the loose floorboard under it, moved the brick under that and found the spare key to the door. She picked it up, put everything back, neatly, in its place and wiped the dirty key on her pants. Then she put the key in the lock and carefully opened the door.

They all held their breath as the door swung open. All of them half expected their mother to come around the hallway, her face alit in a smile, her gloved hands holding a tray of some sort of healthy appetizer to greet them. But a minute went by and there was no greeting. The house was dark, empty and cold.

They all let out a simultaneous breath and stepped inside. If their mother wouldn't greet them then maybe their father would come grinning down the hallway, opening his arms to greet them with a warm hug. But he didn't.

Ben flicked on the light switch near the doorway and the hallway lit up. It made things a little bit more lively but without the smiling faces of their parents their house wouldn't be the same.

Jen and Kate headed towards the living room and Ben continued down the hallway. Jen made her way one way around the couch and Kate made her way around the other all looking around at the pictures on the walls, the tables and other furniture that occupied the living area.

Jen spied the family portrait taken when they were younger that was still hanging on the wall. She sat and Kate sat one leg each of their father's lap while little Ben occupied their mother's. Every one of them had matching smiles on their faces.

Next to that was the picture of her parents with their high school glee club. Of course not even Jen was alive for that but she had gotten to know some of the kids in that picture very well. Mostly Rachel and Finn Hudson. Rachel, still at that time Berry, would come over to baby sit her and when Kate was born, her sister too. Rachel became one of her favorite people and so did Finn. When they were older and weren't in need of a baby sitter anymore, she only saw Finn and Rachel every so often and only because of her parents. The last time she had seen them was almost six months ago when the pair came up for her mother's funeral. Rachel was just as peppy as usual, her long career on broadway doing very well for her health. Finn was just as goofy as she always remembered and just as tall. She still managed to call him Frankenstein without him killing her. But that was probably because Finn adored the first born child of his second family.

"Hey Jen." Kate's voice pulled Jen out of her thoughts and she whirled around to find Kate sitting on the couch with a small smile on her face. "Remember when we used to make forts out of the cushions and blankets?"

A smile broke across Jen's face and she laughed, approaching her sister. "Yes of course! Mom used to come home and be so furious that she could hardly speak!"

Kate laughed at the memory also. "That's when we knew we were in trouble was when Mom went into panicked shock and it took Dad several attempts to get her out of it."

"And we kept doing it too!" Jen laughed again and Kate joined her. "Remember? Until Dad finally said we could make our room into a fort so we pushed our beds together and slept under there for weeks."

Kate shook her head, placing her hand over her heart as she chuckled. "Mom hated that so much. One time we saw her trying to put everything back in place and we went and told on her to Dad."

The women laughed at the memory and Kate leaned over to rest her head on Jen's shoulder.

"Jen! Kate!" They heard their brothers voice down the hall and both turned their attention to the doorway where Ben soon appeared with a grin. "Look what I found!" He held up three small blankets and Kate gasped. She stood up and Jen followed soon after her and they crossed the living room towards their brother.

"Our baby blankets!" Kate exclaimed and took the purple one out of the bunch and cuddled it to her chest. Jen took the light pink one and Ben kept the blue one. Jen ran her hands over the soft material and brought it up to her nose and inhaled. "It still smells like Mom's fabric softener."

Kate brought it up to her nose to see and smiled in satisfaction when she scent washed over her. And then she laughed, grinning at Jen. "Hey, remember Benji used to carry his around until he was like six!"

Ben's face flushed and he whacked Kate on the arm with his blue blanket. "Hey shut up!"

Kate and Jen laughed and Jen reached over to pinch Ben's cheeks. "He was always the baby."

Ben slapped her hand away and rubbed the side of his cheek. "Not funny." He muttered but that only caused his sisters to laugh harder.

Ben huffed and turned, walking away from his laughing older siblings and disappearing down the hallway.

Kate leaned against Jen for support holding her blanket to her mouth to muffle the sound of laughter. After about a minute the two calmed down and let out a breath.

Kate lifted herself back up and glanced at Jen. "I think I'm going to go take a look around."

Jen nodded with a slight smile and gently squeezed her hand. "I'll be with you in a minute."

Kate let out a small smile, nodded and then turned to walk out of the room and down the hallway. Jen sighed quietly once her sister was out of the room and looked around the quiet living room.

Up against one of the walls sat a piano. She crossed the room and pulled out the piano bench and opened the lid, sitting down. She ran her fingers across the keys and the off sound of untuned notes filled the air. The piano was a present from her mother to her father on his 40th birthday and though Jen was only five at the time she remembered the day perfectly...

_Jenalyn Schuester sat happily on the couch in the middle of the living room with her baby sister, Kathryn, on her lap. She giggled as her mother led her blindfolded father into the room. _

"_Emma." Her father laughed, "What is going on?" _

"_It's a surprise Will." Her mother answered, her voice laced with joy. "You'll just have to wait a few more minutes to find out." _

_Will sighed in defeat but then laughed again as Jen started to bounce up and down in excitement._

"_Careful with the baby Jen, don't let her fall off!" Emma warned her. _

"_I got her mommy!" Jen wrapped her arms around her baby sister and Kate let out a happy squeal waving her arms up and down. _

"_Can I take the blindfold off now?" Will asked somewhat impatiently. Emma giggled and looked towards her daughters. "What do you say Jena, can daddy take off his blindfold?" _

"_Hmmm..." Jen brought one finger to her chin and tapped it in thought until she saw her father's lips go into a pout. "YES!" She cried and Emma laughed, reaching up to untie the blindfold. _

_Will braced himself for what he was going to see but when the blindfold fell and his eyes landed on the shiny new piano sitting against the wall, his jaw dropped. _

"_Well..." Emma prompted, slipping around to Will's side. _

"_You got me a piano." His voice was laced with shock as he stared at the instrument. Then a smile broke across his face and he looked down at Emma lovingly. "You are the best." He swooped her up into his arms and kissed her and Jen clapped her hands and Kate followed her lead. _

"_Play us a song Daddy!" Jen insisted after Will got settled at the piano. Emma had taken a seat next to her eldest daughter on the couch and had moved Kate from Jen's lap to hers. Jen had moved to sit on the piano bench next to her father._

_Will ran his fingers over the keys playing a short and simple scale to warm them up, sat in thought for a moment and then launched into a happy, up beat song. _

_About thirty seconds into the song, Emma got up from her seat and started to dance around the living room, bouncing Kate in her arms. Kate's laughter filled the air and so did Will, Emma's and Jenalyn's singing voices. _

Over the course of the years her father had taught her how to play the piano and though she hadn't played in a long time she still remembered a little bit. She spread her fingers over the keys and played a few chords, the same chords of the song that her father had played that day. She sang a long to the chorus of the song and then her hands dropped from the piano and she was left in quiet once again.

Jen bit her lip and closed the piano, turning to stand up and go find Kate.

Kate found her way to her parents room and pushed open the door. Like the rest of the house, the room was dark and cold. However it did have all the furniture and pictures up on the walls and the clothes still in the dresser and her mother's make up still on the vanity. She slowly walked into the room and approached the bed.

She climbed onto foot of the bed, the mattress squeaking under her weight, and she crawled towards the head. She unfolded the blankets and rolled them down and laid herself down in the middle of her fathers and her mother's pillow and closed her eyes tightly...

_Six year old Kathryn Schuester jumped out of bed, threw open her bedroom door and ran down the hallway towards her parent's bedroom. She turned the doorknob and quickly entered the bedroom. She hopped onto the foot of the bed and crawled in between the two lumps that were her sleeping parents. _

_She grabbed each one of their shoulders and shook them gently. "Mommy! Daddy!" She whimpered. _

"_Katie?" Her mother was the first to answer in a tired voice. _

"_Mommy!" She squeaked and hopped over and into Emma's unsuspecting lap. Emma however reacted quickly and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Will was propping himself up, his eyes squinted in the dark. _

"_Katie, what's the matter?" Will asked, his voice although tired, was caring. _

_Katie wrapped her arms around her mother and sobbed into her chest. "They were chasing me! They were gonna get me!" _

_Emma glanced at Will over the sobbing form of their daughter and the couple shared a worried look. _

_Will scooted over and gently placed his hand on his daughter's back, rubbing his hand up and down in gentle motions. "Shhh honey its okay, it was just a dream." _

_Katie turned her head towards her father. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears that continually streamed down her face and her bottom lip trembled. _

_The wind outside knocked a tree branch against the siding of the house and Kate screamed and crawled across the way into Will's lap. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into shoulder, crying hysterically. _

"_It's okay Katie." Will whispered into her ear, continuing to rub her back and kiss the top of her hair. "It was just the wind baby no one is going to get you. It's okay, mommy and daddy are here."_

_Kate continued to cry for a couple of more minutes before finally settling down with just a few hiccups escaping her. She lifted her head and wiped at her eyes, still remaining in Will's lap. She glanced up at her father and then across the way to her mother. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" _

_Emma reached across the way and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ears and smiled softly. "Of course darling." _

_Kate slowly crawled out of her father's lap and into the space between them. Will and Emma both laid back down and Kate curled up to her mother's arm but grabbed Will's arm and threw it protectively over her. Will pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her head and after sharing a look with Emma laid his head back down on the pillow, tightening his grip around his daughter. _

_Kate let out a shuddering sigh and her eyes drifted closed. "Sweet dreams." Will whispered to her and Kate fell into a peaceful, comfortable, soundless sleep._

Kate pressed her face into the sheets and she could smell the familiar scent of her mother's perfume, her father's cologne and the combination of the scents that belonged to her parents.

She reached out and grabbed her mother's pillow bringing it close to her chest and she could almost feel her father's fingers trailing up and down her back trying to comfort her. She could feel his kiss on top of her head. She could hear his voice...

_It's okay Mommy and Daddy are here..._

Her lip trembled and she could feel the tears burning the back of her eyes. She clutched the pillow tighter to her and one by one the tears began to fall. Her body started shaking and soft whimpers began to erupt from her chest. Then they soon evolved into full blown sobs that echoed in the small room.

She felt a feather light touch on her arm and her heart almost stopped beating. She lifted her head, almost expecting her father to be there but it was only Jen, staring down at her with a concerned expression.

"Kate?" Jen whispered.

Kate burst into another round of sobs and buried her face into her older sister's lap. Jen, a little surprised, placed her hands on Kate's red hair lightly and started to play with it.

"I just miss them so much!" Kate cried into her lap and Jen clenched her jaw, fighting back tears of her own.

"I know." She muttered, her voice cracking. "I miss them too." She bit her lip, closed her eyes and let a few tears escape her eyes while still trying to be strong for her younger sister.

Meanwhile Ben was outside on the deck, leaning against the railing looking out into the yard. He smiled at all the memories he had of all the spring and summer days he would spend outside playing some sort of game of ball with his father and then how his mother would insist they get out of their grass stained clothing before dinner, throw them in the wash and depending on her mood, take a shower.

He turned to face the house and his eyes scanned the small deck with the grill and the patio table with the closed umbrella. He walked over to the table and sat down at one of the benches...

_Benjamin Schuester peered out of the back door to where his father was trying to fix the patio umbrella. Trying being the key word. Through the screen door he could hear his father's frustrated grunts as he tried to set the broken umbrella back in place. _

_Ben slipped outside and continue to watch Will struggle with the umbrella for a few more minutes until he finally spoke up, "Dad?" _

_Will jumped, startled and hit his head on the metal pole of the umbrella. He groaned and poked his head out, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Yeah son?" _

"_Can I talk to you?" Ben asked. Will nodded and stepped down from the bench. _

"_Sure, I'm not having much luck with this stupid thing anyway." He pointed to the umbrella and sat down. _

_Ben gave a half smile and Will glanced at him inquisitvely. "What's up Ben?" _

"_Well..." He sighed and started towards him, taking a seat on the bench next to him. "It's about a girl."_

_Will raised his eyebrows, a smirk forming his lips as he nudged his fifteen year old son, "A girl huh?" _

_Ben shoved his father's shoulder jokingly and Will laughed. "What's the problem?" _

"_I really like her. You know I really, really like her. She's so pretty and smart and one of the nicest girls in the world." _

"_So..." Will pressed on and repeated, "What's the problem?" _

"_The problem..." Ben stressed. "Is that she is way out of my league. She's a cheerleader you know? And cheerleaders don't go for guys like me." _

_Will laughed and shook his head. "Oh don't they?" He slung his arm over the table to face Ben better. "Have I ever told you about Terri?" _

_Ben furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Who is Terri?" _

"_Terri is my ex-wife." _

_Ben cocked his head to the side. "Your ex-wife? Wait, you were married before Mom?" _

"_Yes. I was." Will responded and rolled his eyes. "It's a whole big long story but I'm not going to get into that now. What I wanted to say was that Terri was my first girlfriend and I was your age when we started dating. And she was a cheerleader and I was much like you were when I was in high school. At first I never thought Terri would go for me but she did and we were together all through high school and college and in my late twenties we finally got married." _

"_Your late twenties?" Ben questioned. "Weren't you and Mom married in your early thirties though?" _

_Will shrugged and waved his hand back and forth. "Early to mid thirties but mine and Terri's marriage didn't last long." _

"_What happened? If you were together that long in high school and afterwards surely you must have loved each other." _

_Will sighed. "Well like I said its a long, messy story. She turned out not to be the person I thought she was and she betrayed my trust and love in one of the worst ways. In the last year or so of our marriage I could feel myself slipping away from Terri and towards your mother." _

_Ben's eyes widened and Will shot his hand out seeing where his son's mind was going. "I never had an affair with your mother while I was still married. We waited until I was officially divorced to start anything but we knew the feelings for each other were there and were very strong however we never acted on it." _

_Ben nodded in understanding and then his face twisted up in confusion. "Okay so what does your ex-wife have to do with the girl I like?" _

_Will smiled softly and chuckled. "My point of the story was that I thought Terri was the one for me and we had a good fifteen years together before things started going down hill but you never know where you'll find the right one. Maybe this girl is in your league and maybe she'll be the right one for you. Or maybe she'll be your Terri and you'll have a good few years together and then one day you'll find your true soul mate." Will's eyes drifted off and Ben knew that he was thinking about his wife. Ben for the first time truly appreciated his father's happiness in his marriage. He never saw two people more in love than his parents. _

_Will shook his head and turned his attention back to his son. "Anyway Ben, you'll never find out unless you try. I made the first move with Terri and it turned out she liked me too. Maybe this girl likes you and she's just about as nervous to approach you as you are." _

"_Do you really think that?" Ben asked hopefully. _

_Will gave him an exasperated look. "Would I lie to you?"_

_Ben smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Will's jaw dropped in offense and he lunged at his son locking him in head lock and noogy-ing him. _

"_Hey!" Ben shouted and tried to break loose from his father's grip but Will held onto him tightly. _

_Finally Ben managed to shove away from Will and scowled at him as Will laughed. _

"_Seriously though," Will laughed, trying to calm himself down, "Go for it Ben. What have you got to lose?" _

Nothing. And he did lose nothing. And boy was he glad he listened to his father's advice that day. Because that girl that he was so scared to talk to, did like him back and had liked him since middle school. And now that girl was a woman who he was happily married to for almost twenty years. His beautiful Chloe.

"Thank you Dad." He whispered looking up at the sky. He had said it numerous times during the course of his life but he felt the need to stress it again. If it wasn't for the talk that day he probably never would have gotten together with Chloe.

"There you are." Ben turned and saw Jen standing in the open doorway. Ben stood up and his brow furrowed in concern. Although it may not have been too obvious Ben knew his sister very well and knew she had been crying. "Are you alright?"

Jen gave him a small smile. "I'm fine. Kate just got a little upset and brought me down with her."

"Is Kate okay?" Ben asked.

Jen nodded. "She's just washing up in the bathroom. She just needed to let her emotions out you know."

Ben nodded in understanding. "Of course, yeah. This is the first time we've all been in the house since they've died." He clenched his jaw letting out a breath. "It's...hard on all of us."

Jen reached forward and took Ben's hand, they shared a small sad glance and then headed inside.

They met Kate in the main hallway and the trio just stood there quietly, just staring at each other for a very long time.

Finally, Jen spoke up, her voice solemn. "We're going to have to sell it aren't we?"

Kate's eyes filled with tears and she lowered her head, Ben slipping his hand into hers and squeezing it tightly. They all knew the answer.

The days flew past. They stopped by each day and cleaned out the house, keeping valuable items and throwing out the rest.

Weeks passed and the house was put up for sale. A couple of months went by and only a few buyers stopped by to look at the house. None were takers.

Only on one dreary, rainy, November afternoon did they get a promising offer. Jen, Kate and Ben all met at the house and waited for the interested buyers to arrive. They got the offer in the mail and they would not reveal who they were until they met face to face. The siblings were a little nervous upon meeting the interested buyers because of that reason.

They sat outside on the porch and watched anxiously as cars drove past and none of them stopped. Kate constantly checked her watch checking the time to see how late the buyers were.

Just then a familiar looking blue car pulled in front of the house. Even though the car did look familiar to them they dismissed the coincidential fact and the three siblings stood up to greet the new buyers.

As the young couple stepped out of their car, first Kate's jaw dropped, then Jen's and then Ben's.

A strawberry blonde, no older then twenty five with a dark haired man who looked only a couple years older than her, walked hand in hand towards the house.

"We are interested in purchasing your home." The young woman stated with a bright smile.

"Lauren?" Jen's eyes were wide opened in shock. "Honey, what is this all about?"

"Well Mom, we heard that you were going to sell the house and you know as well as I do that grandma would not want any stranger living in her house. You know that Brandon being a doctor we have plenty of money and can afford to buy the house. We're getting sick of our apartment and grandma and grandpa's house is so special we figured we'd buy it."

Jen's eyes watered and she pulled her eldest daughter into a hug. "Thank you." She whispered into her ear.

Lauren smiled up at her mother and kissed her cheek softly before being pulled into a happy hug by her Aunt and Uncle.

After each of them hugged the life out of both Lauren and her newly wed husband, Ben told them to go inside and they would discuss everything further.

Lauren smiled happily and took Brandon by the hand and the two of them went inside. Jen, Kate and Ben all looked at each other, happy that their home and the last piece they had left of their parents memory's were not going to be sold to some stranger.

They looked up as the sun broke out of the dark clouds and lit up the sky. The way the sun was angled in the sky it cast a ray of bright and shining light onto the porch swing. They could almost picture their parents sitting there, arms around each other smiling back at them, nodding in approval.

A warm breeze suddenly whisked through the air and surrounded each one of them, hugging them, and in that breeze were the whispered words...

_I love you. _


End file.
